Why is this hike called Intelligence Valley? Because – it's said – that if you walk down the valley, you will become more intelligent! Try it out! And be sure to not walk up the valley—you might lose some of your smarts!
On this visit, we’ll need to start at the park area and do an up-and-back hike. (Unless we’re able to hike out through the village at the end—we’ll check on that in the week before the hike. On the bright side, that means we’d be picking up intelligence on the way out …)
The Intelligence Valley hike is one of the easiest ones we've got, and it's a good choice for young children.
It's a flat hike, and offers some shade while hiking alongside a stream and over rocks through the valley. We've got some walking sticks to bring along—these will assist with balance in slippery spots.
In the water at one of the beaches.
Along the way are several swimming holes. The biggest of these is near the end of the hike, and is called the Dragon Pool. The Dragon Pool is a deep pond carved into a huge granite boulder, and we'll stop for a snack and see if we spot any swimmers.
After finishing our walk through the valley we will arrive at Shentangyu Park, and walk out to meet our bus.
Just before we get into Intelligence Valley If we’re able to hike out through the last village we'll walk past the Liyuan Library, an incongruously architectural building that's been called “the world’s most beautiful library”. It’s semi-private, and usually closed!
COVID-19 and participation precautions
The brief version:
Please DO NOT participate if you are sick or showing symptoms of fever and/or have an elevated temperature, or have been in close contact with someone who was/is.
Intelligence Valley is one of our easiest walks, and we added on a stroll by Yanqi Lake to make it a longer day—see eight photos of the valley scenery and one of Yanqi Lake.