We visited Stone Gate Mountain Camp for a hike in the hills above—see 15 photos of flowers and blooms, cliffs and mountains, and the ‘Stone Gate’.
Read more about Stone Gate Mountain Camp, 2021/04/11

See a small collection of photos from the hills in between the Silver Pagodas and East Water Valley Village.
Read more about Silver Pagodas to East Water Valley Village, 2021/04/10

This hike took us up to Zhenbei Tower at Jiankou and then over to the top section of the Mutianyu Great Wall, with superb views all the way—see 31 photos of Great Wall, pink blossoms, and a surprising pink glow in the light at dusk.
Read more about Jiankou Great Wall to Beigou Village sundown hike, 2021/04/04

We got up to high elevations on this walk, hiking up a broad ridge to reach the High Tower and then continuing through forest and along repaired Great Wall to finish at Huanglouyuan—see sixteen photos.
Read more about High Tower and Huanglouyuan, 2021/04/03

On the Spring Equinox we hiked through the hills to reach the tops of the Western Hills Forest Park, seeing the start of spring blossoms, the sunset, and the lights of Beijing coming on as the sky darkened—see 14 photos.
Read more about Sundown at the Forest Park, 2021/03/20

In a break in the recent smoggy weather we hiked up to Nine-Eyes Tower to find blue skies, great views, a little bit of snow, and quite a lot of mud where the snow had melted—see 19 photos.
Read more about Nine-Eyes Tower, 2021/03/13

This hike followed orchard trails and old tracks over hills large and small on the way to Yanshou Temple. The temple was still closed, but the steep stairs behind the temple took us up to a peak with broad views of the surrounding countryside—see 20+ photos.
Read more about Over the Hills to Yanshou Temple, 2021/03/07

We hiked a long trail into an obscure valley on the west side of Beijing to find the remains of High Bridge Monastery, and pagodas and stupas in the hills nearby—see 13 photos.
Read more about High Bridge Monastery hike, 2021/03/06

Another unexpectedly frosty walk through the countryside, starting at the Silver Pagodas and finishing – a few hills later – at East Water Valley Village—see 17 shots of icy scenery.
Read more about Silver Pagodas to East Water Valley Village, 2021/03/03

This was our first hike here for a while, as the villages had been closed down to outsiders. It was as fun as ever—see 18 photos from the hike, including snowy trails and wild Great Wall.
Read more about Jiankou to Mutianyu Great Wall, 2021/02/27

To celebrate Lantern Festival we headed out to Miyun for an easy loop walk in the rolling hills south of the big reservoir and finished with fun at a small countryside playground—see 15 photos from the hike and yuan xiao making fun.
Read more about Kids Club at the Rolling Hills, 2021/02/27

We hiked the Badaling Ancient Great Wall just as a freezing mist was creeping over the hills—see 40+ photos of snow and frost covering the wall and nearby peaks.
Read more about Snowy Badaling Ancient Great Wall, 2021/02/24

A 16km hike up to and along the top of Phoenix Ridge, passing through the Little and Big Wind Gaps on the way to the end—see 20+ photos of rocky scenery and mountain views.
Read more about Phoenix Ridge and the ‘Big Wind Gap’, 2021/02/20

See 24 photos from a day out in the rolling hills south of the Miyun Reservoir—a big blue sky, with long views of hills and far-off mountains.
Read more about Rolling Hills hike, 2021/02/17

A special setup for ISB staff—we spent a day out in Miyun exploring the canyons and mountains of Immortal Valley, with great views across the Miyun Reservoir from the top.
Read more about Immortal Valley Loop hike, 2021/02/16

A mix of fog and smog made this hike a mysterious experience—see 20+ photos of icefalls, forests, and misty mountain scenery.
Read more about Immortal Valley hike, 2021/02/14

See 17 shots from a ramble from Moss Mountain over the hills and through forest to the Little West Lake area—photos of cliffs, boulders, frozen waterfalls, streams, and reservoirs.
Read more about Over the Hills from Moss Mountain, 2021/02/03

With the ice starting to thaw a little, we spent some time on side trails to avoid wet (and frozen!) feet—take a look at 16 photos.
Read more about White River ice hike, 2021/01/31

We hiked the Jingxi Ancient Road on Beijing’s west side, passing the ice falls and the horse hoofprints on the way to the end—see 16 photos.
Read more about Jingxi Ancient Road and Horse Hoofprints, 2021/01/30

See a small set of shots from a visit to the Tang Dynasty Caves at Guyaju, and the Ice Festival at Longqingxia.
Read more about Longqingxia Ice Festival and Tang Dynasty Caves, 2021/01/30