A Little History:
"The Fragrant Mountain, located at the east foot of Xishan Mountain of Beijing, is so named because the huge stones within the mountain look like the censer." Censers are incense holders that come in many different shapes and sizes. In many cultures, incense have spiritual and religious connotations, which greatly influences the shape, size, and use of the censer. "The Yong’an Temple was built here by the emperor of the Jin Dynasty in 1186, with temporary palaces built aside. The temple was expanded by later generations. To the tenth year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1745), it was expanded to be a temple with 28 spots, and was ren
amed Jingyi Garden. According to the investigation, Fragrant Mountain Red Leaves include 7 species of 13 sorts of trees, with a total amount of 120 thousand trees and total planting area of about 87 hectares. The sight is rather magnificent" (1).
"The park was expanded during the Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty. In 1745, Emperor QianLong (1711 to 1799) ordered the addition of many new halls, pavilions and gardens and gave it a new name, Ji
ngyi Garden (Garden of Tranquility and Pleasure). Many of the relics in the park were damaged by foreign troops during two major attacks. In 1860, British troops set the Old Summer Palace ablaze, burning it to the ground along with the Gardens of Perfect Brightness, causing extensive damage to many relics in the park. Another attack in 1900 by the Eight Nation Alliance caused destruction to the park and to the Summer Palace built by Empress dowager Cixi." (2)
"After 1949, large-scale restoration took place and now the Fragrant Hills Park is a pop- ular place in late au
tumn for holiday-makers when the maple leaves redden. The brilliant foliage is the main attraction. No one is sure where the sumac trees originated. Legend has it that a south wind carried the seeds of the red-leaf trees to Beijing. Then the seeds survived, and as years passed they grew into a lovely forest. Another story goes that the sumacs were transplanted to the area by Emperor Qianlong (l736-l795) of the Qing Dynasty. In November, the frosted leaves of these trees, along with the persimmons and maples, spread over the Fragrant Hills like a thick red blanket. For two centuries, it has been a resort for the residents in Beijing." (3)
And so my story begins...
map of the park located at the base of the mountain right before you begin your path to the top of the mountain
side view of the bridge 
me on the bridge 
lots of people took their picture on that bridge which was located at the base of the mountain. many people travel to the fragrant hills/fragrant mountain to see the red leaves of the trees when autumn approaches. its a long hike, but if you go at the right time you can see why its worth it. the red leaves cover the top of the mountain and even though you can see red leaves all the time in dc, seeing them cover a mountain is better. i did not get the chance to see it but i saw pictures of what it is supposed to look like. at the top you can also see most, if not all of, beijing. it's also great to get a feel of how vast beijing is. the entire city could not fit into one panoramic photo, a video had to be taken inorder to capture what you could
see at the top (shown at bottom). on the top is what people travel to the mountains to see and on the left is what i saw the day i went.
when you started getting higher up, there were rest points every so often when you were going up the hill, but after climbing all the way to the top and having to walk all the way back down (total of about 4 hours more or less) i couldn't walk the next day. my legs were shaking walking down from the top. i should have opted for the 50RMB and just taken the lift. next time, i know better.stairs started getting steeper and steeper.
at the bottom of the moutain what was left and restored of historical sites were open to visitors.
this building is the symbol of the fragrant mountains said the sign at the bottom of the stairs (pagoda of the zongjing monastery).
in the green/blue coat is in my class. her name is yenda and she is from indonesia. her chinese name is xiaoyen. shes the one who invited me to go hiking with her. thats her to the left of me in the picture of the two of us
for emergencies here you have to dial 119 instead of 911. same for information. its 114.
my indonesian friends took this picture of me. they are very into taking lots of pictures and always offered to take pictures of me whenever they stopped to take pictures too. this was taken at xiangshan also known as the fragrant hills.
view of beijing from the top of fragrant hills
this is a video of the view from the top. it is of me moving from left to right with my camera. a picture would not have been enough to capture how extensive the view was.
(1) http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/19Scenery613.html
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragrant_Hills
(3) http://en.beijing2008.cn/19/70/article211987019.shtml
My 101 class at the Indonesian Restaurant. Getting ready for some delicious Indonesian Cuisine. 我的101 汉语班 在一个印度尼西亚饭馆儿准备吃印度尼西亚饭.
The restaurant that we went to is located in the embassy row of Beijing. The area is known as Sanlitun. Sanlitun is also known for its bar street.
located in the basement of a building in xidan district right among the many market towers.
amed Jingyi Garden. According to the investigation, Fragrant Mountain Red Leaves include 7 species of 13 sorts of trees, with a total amount of 120 thousand trees and total planting area of about 87 hectares. The sight is rather magnificent" (1).
ngyi Garden (Garden of Tranquility and Pleasure). Many of the relics in the park were damaged by foreign troops during two major attacks. In 1860, British troops set the Old Summer Palace ablaze, burning it to the ground along with the Gardens of Perfect Brightness, causing extensive damage to many relics in the park. Another attack in 1900 by the Eight Nation Alliance caused destruction to the park and to the Summer Palace built by Empress dowager Cixi." (2)
tumn for holiday-makers when the maple leaves redden. The brilliant foliage is the main attraction. No one is sure where the sumac trees originated. Legend has it that a south wind carried the seeds of the red-leaf trees to Beijing. Then the seeds survived, and as years passed they grew into a lovely forest. Another story goes that the sumacs were transplanted to the area by Emperor Qianlong (l736-l795) of the Qing Dynasty. In November, the frosted leaves of these trees, along with the persimmons and maples, spread over the Fragrant Hills like a thick red blanket. For two centuries, it has been a resort for the residents in Beijing." (3)
see at the top (shown at bottom). on the top is what people travel to the mountains to see and on the left is what i saw the day i went.
