Want to get out of the city but don’t know where to go? Let Beijing Hikers be your guide.
Founded in 2001 by Gary and Huilin Pinnegar, this local hiker’s club caters to a variety of ages and difficulty levels. The group’s mission is to lead eco-friendly hiking tours in locales that are either little known or unknown to their customers.
On Sundays, Beijing Hikers offers its Countryside Strolls series: easy hikes that explore Beijing’s rural areas and are suitable for children.
This week, discover Lingshui Village, a repository of ancient culture located just outside of Beijing. Also known as the Scholar’s Village, Lingshui developed a reputation for scholarship after several of its past residents achieved success in the Imperial Examinations.
Lingshui Village features temples, pavilions, scholar’s houses, wells, grindstones, cobblestone streets, and curiously, “a 1,000-year old hermaphroditic gingko tree.”
The trip costs RMB 320 for adults and RMB 200 for children under 12. The bus leaves from the Lido Starbucks at 9am and returns at about 5:30pm. A late lunch of Chinese food is included after the hike.
For more information visit Beijing Hikers’ website.
