Flower Wood to the Silver Pagodas, 2014/6/28
Photos from an 18km walk through the hills of Huairou District.
For this hike we joined two of our Level 3 hikes together to make one of our “Hillwalking Challenge” type trails.
We began the hike in a small village called Flower Wood, and walked out the back, following field trails through chestnut orchards and into a big valley behind the village.
The trail took us up and over a ridge, passing through some very bushy sections – not many people walk this trail anymore, and it gets fairly overgrown, especially in summer.
After a nice walk along the ridge, we walked past Lily Village, and then on and up to a big reservoir in the hills. The reservoir is popular with local fishermen.
We then walked down and out another valley to the beginning of our Silver Pagodas hike, and then on to Longevity Village.
The hike to Longevity Village took us around the back of the Silver Mountain, and on to the “Valley of Mercy”. The valley showed us no mercy whatsoever, and the climb up to the top of the Silver Mountain was extra tough in the heat. One bonus – beside the trail, the wild raspberry bushes were full of super sweet fruit. Delicious!
We all eventually reached the lookout point at the peak of the mountain, and then headed down to the pagoda site. A little bit further down the trail we found our bus, and after a proper Beijing Hikers picnic – beer, cookies, nuts, and watermelon – we headed on back to Beijing.

We began the hike with a stroll through the streets of Flower Wood Village.

Further on, we took a break in a shaded area, before climbing a big hill.

Midway up the hill, we had clear views of the countryside.

Up on the ridgeline, a good spot to take some photos.

Beyond Lily Village was the a big reservoir.

By the reservoir we met some chicks.

We picked a shady spot for our lunch break.

… and some tree climbing.

The path towards the Silver Mountains. Our trail took us around the back, and up to the peak in the middle.

A view of the hills behind Longevity Village.

From the Silver Mountain lookout point we could see down to the pagodas.

Hikers up top.

We walked down to the Silver Pagodas – this is the view from the rear.

The view from the front of the Silver Pagoda site.