Source: China Daily

03-29-2009 14:12

BEIJING, March 29 -- A Ming dynasty emperor once chose Beijing's picturesque Silver Mountain area as the location for his tomb, much to the ire of the locals. In an effort to prevent the tomb from being built, the residents renamed their villages with dark and scary names, such as Ghost and Blood, to scare the emperor away.

(Photo Source: China Daily)

Today, this large scenic spot, only about 30 km northeast of Changping district in Beijing, is attracting new interest from city folk.

Aside from the obligatory trip to the Great Wall, visitors to Beijing rarely stray beyond the Second Ring Road, although the capital's municipality encompasses more than 10,000 sq km.

But if one makes the effort, there are mountains to the north and west, with reservoirs, hot springs, sleepy villages and fascinating temples waiting for an able trekker.

This area gets covered with silver-like snow in winter, and hence its name. The mountain used to house a famous Buddhist shrine in north China and the highest peak here is 727m. Some of the oldest temples in this area were built around the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and the pagodas here were renovated during the Liao (AD 916-1125) and Jin (AD 1115-1234) dynasties, making them at least 900 years old.

It is believed that there were once more than 70 temples scattered on the mountains. The largest one, Fahua Temple, was built in 1125 during the Jin Dynasty.

Hikers can enjoy long walks here, passing quarries and a local shrine before exploring five pagodas built 300 years ago.

Trek halfway up the mountain and you can ring a large bell hanging in a pavilion. Monks used to leave their laundry at this halfway point and ring the bell to alert nuns to come and fetch their laundry.

The roundtrip may take you three hours.