Flying towards Beijing from the northwest I have always been fascinated to look down on seemingly extensive areas of semi-arid or even desert terrain. Yet, the flight would be less than an hour from its destination! Then, so quickly everything changes with greenery, mountains and lakes appearing as the aircraft descends on approach into the city's major international airport. That narrow belt of northern mountains between Beijing's Changping and Yanqing Districts along with a much larger stretch of the Western Hills have played physically and historically critical roles for the city. Acting in some ways like a great 'screen wall' reminiscent of traditional courtyard building design, they protect both from the bitterly cold northern winds and potential threats of desert encroachment.
Satellite imagery clearly shows the deserts stretching from north of Beijing right across northwestern China to be broken only by the Mountains of Heaven (Tianshan) in Xinjiang before continuing onwards to the Atlantic coasts of northwest Africa. South of those often rugged and high mountain ranges bordering Beijing land turns green and fertile stretching right down to the South China Sea.
Throughout history the hills in many ways have acted as a natural defence for those often densely populated lands of southerly China. Broken only by a few strategic passes such as Badaling, the mountains are crossed by one of the world's most iconic constructions, the Great Wall of China.
However the mountains also can generate negative or positive atmospheric conditions. In warmer months air may slowly drift up from the south of China to be stopped by the hills, leading to a spike in poor atmospheric conditions for Beijing and surrounding regions. It is when colder air over Inner Mongolia and northern Hebei descends across those high ranges that any lingering grey may be blown away to leave the city with lovely blue days. However, such strong winds may also bring down dust from the desert in springtime. Thankfully that is now not so frequent an occurrence compared to earlier times. This is partly thanks to the creation of forest belts, the 'Green Great Wall', as a barrier against such airborne fine sands.
Coming from Scotland, a country famed for its great outdoor environment, I was particularly attracted to Beijing partly because of its proximity to easily accessed upland areas. From early days I developed a particular joy towards the Fragrant Hills or Xiangshan, part of the greater Western Hills. Today it is easily reached by a light rail system running out from near the Summer Palace to Xiangshan village. My early visits however entailed a lengthy but scenic bus journey from near Xizhimen Metro Station on Line 2.
Once an imperial garden today Xiangshan is an extensive public park. Its name comes from 557 metre Xianglu Feng or 'Incense Burner Peak'. Accessed by chairlift it is far more beautiful and exhilarating to walk up to the summit via stone paths. They traverse through a landscape of pine cypress forests and persimmon trees, particularly beautiful in autumn with some of the finest displays of red leaves to be found across Beijing. From the peak, extensive views stretch east to the Summer Palace and its Kunming Lake before looking right across Beijing's urban spread. Facing west, in contrast, reveals a natural mountain landscape appearing so inviting for more exhilarating rural walks. Xiangshan's environment is scattered with traditional architecture, cultural relics, small lakes and botanical beauty. I found great pleasure in regularly visiting the area while quietly thinking how lucky we were to have such enchantment on our doorstep!
In 1987 I first set foot on the Great Wall at Badaling, moments remaining lifelong memories. However, on a cold November afternoon in 1994 I experienced the section at Mutianyu in Huairou District. It was much quieter and then less developed to the point where climbing steeply up to its heavy stone defences I often found myself alone on its forested slopes. Indeed walking along its battlements again I could be the only visitor! Perfect solitude! It was to Mutianyu where I would take visitors often from the UK, particularly outdoor lovers who would appreciate the often jagged mountain topography all around. The question often asked as to how such a structure could ever have been built within such difficult landscapes? Apparently a wall first appeared there during the mid-6th century Northern Qi while the present, well preserved structure, was rebuilt in 1569 during the Ming Dynasty. Road journeys from urban Beijing out to Mutianyu in my earlier days regularly followed long, straight, quiet tree-lined roads across initially flat countryside.
Although Beijing may appear mostly built-up there are a surprising number of excellent walking trails and cycle routes in and around the city. From historic times the area has been laced by a network of waterways connecting with the Grand Canal at Tongzhou in the eastern suburbs. One canal, today carrying pleasure boat traffic, runs northwest from near Beijing Zoo up to the Summer Palace. It provides both a traffic-free environment with increasingly spectacular views of pagoda topped Jade Spring (yuquan) Hill combined with a backdrop of my beloved Fragrant Hills. That canal was once an imperial route where barges transferred the emperors and their entourages out to the Palace for summer residence.
The more time spent in Beijing the more obvious there was a lot of history just waiting to be both discovered and explored. Unlike today, with an ever expanding metro network reaching now almost every corner of this vast city, travels needed some planning. In late December 1995 one such destination in southwestern Fengtai District was Marco Polo Bridge or Lugoqiao. It of course is associated with an an infamous incident on 7 July 1937 culminating in starting the Second Sino-Japanese War that lasted up to 1945.
I was fascinated with both the bridge and the fact that Wanping had remained as a walled settlement. Getting there involved a local bus from near today's Lianhuachi Coach Station out to what then felt almost rural suburbia. The area is crisscrossed by several railway lines for Fengtai remains a major rail junction with several lines approaching Beijing. That stone bridge I had come to see had carried historically a trade route into the city across the Yongding River. Indeed its line can still be traced heading towards Qianmen via Guanganmen and Dashilar. Today's often crowded streets and expressways of course bear no resemblance to the packhorse carriageways of such long gone eras.
In 1995 many people would walk across the 266.5 metre, 11 span bridge to villages on the western banks of the river or beyond. Originating from 1189, following flood damage it was reconstructed in 1698 during the Qing Dynasty reign of Emperor Kangxi. With balustrades topped by hundreds of unique stone carved lions it is also associated with the legendary Marco Polo. In his travel writings he proclaimed 'Over the river there is a very fine stone bridge, so fine indeed, that it has very few equals in the world.'
Accessed from the eastern end of the bridge, Wanping Fortress (wanping cheng) was amazing to visit. A compact completely wall-enclosed Ming-era town it was established between 1638 and 1640 to strategically protect Beijing from western incursions. A half-square in shape, I was able then to walk along its walls looking down across a maze of small courtyard homes. They were often more in keeping with what I would see in countryside parts of nearby Hebei than in the urban Beijing I had travelled out through.
With its many parks Beijing offered me a profusion of walking opportunities. A favourite has always been Jingshan Park with its stunning views south across the Forbidden City. Just so much to photograph, including evenings when parts of the Palace's walls and its iconic Tiananmen Gate would be beautifully illuminated.
However, not all my time was spent appreciating the many natural and historic wonders of Beijing that could so easily keep me transfixed. Like much of China the city was and still is changing fast. Walking again was an excellent way to take in much that was happening both with infrastructure improvements and the increasing change in people's lifestyles.
When I first started exploring the city, bicycles remained a common form of personal transport while the yellow mini bus taxis or 'mianbao' were a popular alternative to crowded buses for longer journeys. While often polluting the streets of Beijing they offered cheap travel but by the late 1990's they had all but disappeared from the city's inner roads. Since then there have been remarkable improvements with urban transportation. Indeed only a few days before writing this piece I was on Chang'an Avenue. Looking at red, sleek and environmentally positive buses it was interesting to reflect back 15 years to that same thoroughfare busy with cyclists alongside often polluting diesel vehicles.
Beijing was expanding fast by the early 2000's with road vehicles rapidly increasing leading both to congestion and increased pollution. While several expressways were built to cope with the growing traffic load so alternative transport strategies were also pursued. One of the greatest achievements I have witnessed has been in metro and urban light rail construction.
Until the late 1990's the city had two metro lines. One went out from Xidan to Pinguoyuan on the edge of the Western Hills. The other looped underneath the former Ming City Walls. For many years along parts of Chang'an Avenue I had noticed work slowly progressing and extending Line 1 eastwards. By September 1999 it reached Sihui Dong from where in January 2003 a totally new Batong Line connected with then suburban Tongzhou. In December that same year, the mostly above ground 40.9 kilometre Line 13 formed a great semi-circle around the northern suburbs connecting Xizhimen with Dongzhimen. Since then it has been difficult to keep up as the system extends to 22 lines and now second longest system worldwide with a total length presently 636.8 kilometres. If only this had existed in my earlier days how much easier explorations of this vast city would have been, but of course, with less adventure!
Alongside transport improvements have been extensive and ongoing environmental work. This was partly driven by an unsuccessful bid for 2000 Olympics combined with a desire to succeed in the 2008 competition. Greening, tree planting, new parks, walkways resulted in much happening for success in establishing what were truly spectacular Games and a defining moment for Beijing. One issue I enjoyed documenting were the often delightful metal sculpting appearing across the central city. Statues featuring both traditional and modern aspects of urban life.
It has been an interesting time watching the urban changes alongside lifestyles. However the latter in itself is another chapter in the transformation of Beijing into the modern capital of China we see today.
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