Jingdong is about a two hour drive from Beijing and is a relatively new tourist site. Because they have not started marketing it yet, not many Chinese have been to see it and almost no westerners. It was an exciting idea to be on the leading edge of tourism! Even our guide Wanda had not been to Jingdong before. Which made it quite exciting for all.
After climbing the great wall the day before, we were looking forward to standing at the top of a canyon and looking down. Not so, grasshopper! Jingdong is not a canyon visit like the US Grand Canyon (which is amazing). This canyon is entered at the bottom and begins with...
...what else? STEPS.
Climbing this flight of stairs got us to the bottom of the trail. The canyon rises between mountains and follows along a series of five lakes, each at a higher elevation than the last. The first lake is right at the beginning.
It is the largest of the lakes and there are speedboats and smaller boats available for rides. We walked around one side of the lake admiring the beautiful views. Little did we realize how much better they would get.
Wanda and her intrepid band of climbers set off to visit the next part of the canyon. It was then that we began to realize what a unique concept is being formed here. At and between each of the lakes there are markets, pavilions, entertainment centers and food.
This guy is used by the locals to bring fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs into the canyon to sell to the visitors. Shortly beyond the market area was the first entertainment stop with bumper cars and a bull riding machine. A bit further on was an archery range where you could shoot a crossbow and dart games. After that we reached the second lake.
As we moved from lake to lake, they grew successively smaller actually becoming more like ponds, and the walls of the canyon got closer. By the third pond water activities also became available. Next to the swan boat is a bamboo raft for poling through the water.
Following this area we came across a very shaded and cool (relatively) pavilion. The light filtering through the vines created beautiful patters on the walkway.
The locals had set up a small fruit market and one industrious woman worked on preparing and cooking fresh dumplings for any who wanted to partake.
We passed this area and the canyon grew steeper and narrower. Much of the time we were traversing on catwalks affixed to the canyon walls. The views ahead made us wonder how much more there was to come.
The walls of the canyon grew steeper and the views more and more beautiful. Because it is not very popular yet, we often went for long stretches being the only ones on the paths. The peace and quiet was complete and after being in Beijing with millions around you at all times, this was a wonderful respite.
As we continued we found that someone had climbed the rock face on many of the walls to put up the names of the caves, canyon sections and ponds. Luckily we had three friends along who could translate.
By our count we reached the fourth lake and had only one more to go. Of course, just to make life interesting we needed to cross a chain bridge to continue on.
It looked sturdy enough, but it is amazing how much sway such a stable looking structure can have. It's gets to be even more fun when some of the young men crossing decided to get it really swaying!
We met a fellow traveler resting among the rocks and decided to continue on. When we reached the final lake, we found another surprise...
...a beautiful waterfall which feeds the lakes and connecting streams from a plateau high in the mountains above. The waterfall was fairly small since we were in the dry season, but beautiful none the less.
After a short rest (and some ice cream), we had to decide how to get back down and out of the canyon. We could hike back the way we came or we could take a chair lift to an even higher spot and go down from there without having to hike. Since we had already been in the canyon for several hours, we opted for the chair lift.
It rose almost straight up and looked to take us to the next peak. Once we were in the lift the feeling was amazing. It seemed that we were rising up and up and up. When we looked back down...
...we realized we were. As we neared the crest of the mountain ahead we started to look for the station. But once we reached the top, the ground fell away into a valley and we were on the rise again. This happened again at the top of the next mountain. The views were breathtaking and when we saw the station we were actually sad that we were reaching the end of our journey.
It was such a thrill to be in such an isolated place and know that very few people in the world have seen this wonder.
After alighting we took a short tram ride down to a staging area. Apparently, this is where you can get up the mountain by car. Once there we rested at the edge of the mountain enjoying the peace and quiet before heading back to the city.
But we were still at the top of the mountain. We had two choices for our return to the bottom. A sled ride on a track or a tram bus.
Elin was a bit hesitant about the sled ride so we opted for the tram. However, after traversing all of the switchbacks down to the bottom, we may have made the scarier choice.
One of the things I found most impressive about this area was the ingenuity and hard work it took to build this remote canyon into a tourist destination. There is no easy access to the area and the craftsmanship evident in many of the areas was impressive. The engineering skills and hard work in building this area are a tribute to the local villagers.
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