Eric's Beijing Diary

Beautiful day today. We hiked up over the north ridge, and down into Cherry Valley, which is one of the prettiest spots in the Western Hills. I chose this hike today because the trail head is about a ten minute walk from my place, but mainly because I really like Cherry Valley. Fortunately, Jacky is a pretty good photographer, and he had his camera with him, so we got some pretty good pictures.

Autumn is almost upon us, but it was pretty hot today. But once we got down into Cherry Valley, it was cool and breezy. Cherry Valley is deep in a ravine that seems to be naturally air conditioned.

I usually try to stay away from the Hills on the weekend, because there are so many people out here. But for those who don't live here, the only time they can come out here is on Saturday. So I decided to do an afternoon hike. People start going home after noon, so it gradually gets less and less congested. And most people had already hiked up the trail by the time we started.

We are thinking of moving the Saturday evening Bible study to Fragrant Hills. That would be easier for me, but Fragrant Hills is a long way from where most people live. There is a subway extension planned to come out here (which I dread), but right now, the only way to get here is by bus.

If you come to Fragrant Hills, I recommend that you come on a weekday evening. The buses back toward town run until 10 pm, so you can easily be here until dark. If you start hiking just as the sun is starting to lower, and you are here on a week day, most folks will be heading home. There are plenty of places that are pretty quiet. But definitely do not miss the bus back to town, because the only hotels out here are resort hotels, like the one designed by I. M. Pei, and they are not cheap.