Hiking photos - Sancha Valley, 2011/08/07
The Sancha Valley Countryside Stroll was recently introduced as a way to provide a shady, easy stroll that will help us beat the summer heat. We start and end this hike at the village of Sancha north of Beijing municipality, and hike up past a few terraced orchards into the hills.
This hike is a delight for those who enjoy wildflowers; every month has different varieties of flowers in bloom and in the summer there are flowers of every shape, size, and color to be seen. There are also many brightly colored insects in the forest, such as turquoise and red dragonflies as well as a number of species of large, unusually shaped and colored beetles.
After we reached our high point on this hike, which is located on an abandoned terrace in the woods, we took a snack break before heading back down to the village for a delicious home cooked traditional Chinese lunch at Hayden and Huijie’s summer cottage.
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Our group takes a break at a shady spot in the forest.
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From some places along the trail, we could see the high peaks and ridges that form part of the Spring Valley Loop hike in the background.
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In several places, we saw hornets’ nests attached to the rocks.
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Corn, chestnuts, and persimmons are some of the main crops grown in the area and are cultivated on terraces outside of the village.
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The trail starts out relatively flat just outside of the village.
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A view of part of the village of Sancha. The hotel in the picture has been under construction for at least five years, and has looked like it has been ready to open for at least two!
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We have recently renovated this little cottage - it's available for rent by the day or weekend!
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After lunch, we relaxed for a while outside of the cottage before returning to Beijing. This cottage makes a relaxing place to stay for those seeking a quiet weekend outside of the city.