Live Your Best Lives
（Note*: The “Haituo Mountain” marked in the pictures in this article should be “Haituo Mountain”）
Haituo Mountain is located at the junction of the northern part of Yanqing, Beijing and Chicheng County, Zhangjiakou City. It belongs to the Jundu Mountain System, and its highest peak is 2,241 meters above sea level.
In 2009, it was selected as one of China's top ten "unknown mountains" by the Institute of Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences and China National Geographic Magazine.
Haituo Mountain covers an area of over 100 square kilometers. The mountain range generally runs from southwest to northeast and serves as a natural watershed between Beijing and Hebei.
The summit is a gentle meadow about 10 kilometers long, 500 meters wide, and about 100 meters at its narrowest point.
The three peaks on it are called Dahaituo (2241), Xiaohaituo (2198), and Sanhaituo (1854).
Haituo Mountain stretches across northern Beijing like a large screen, becoming an important line of defense against sandstorms.
The mountains here are high and densely forested, with intact original secondary Pinus tabulaeformis forests. It is the most complete natural ecosystem in the area around Beijing. The mountain ridge forms the boundary between Chicheng County and Beijing. The yin side of the mountain is the Dahaituo Nature Reserve, while the yang side is the Songshan Nature Reserve. Within the area, species such as Juglans mandshurica, Tilia, Fraxinus chinensis, Ulmus pumila, and Betula chinensis form a typical natural secondary broad-leaved forest in North China. Wildlife is also abundant, with 713 species of wild vascular plants and 216 species of wild vertebrates recorded in Songshan. Above 1,800 meters above sea level, a large meadow-like vegetation zone develops, featuring nasturtiums, daylilies, ginseng palms, sanguisorba officinalis, ginseng root, and Rhododendron chinense. The southern side of the mountain is steep, and in summer, torrential downpours are common, known in ancient times as "Haituo Flying Rain," one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Guichuan. The area surrounding Haituo Mountain is sparsely populated. Within Beijing's Yanqing District, the only settlements to the south are Xidazhuangke Village and the Songshan Nature Reserve Administration. To the north, in Chicheng County, Hebei Province, lie the villages of Yanjiaping, Jiangzhuangzi, and Dahaituo. Within a few dozen square kilometers, there are only a few hundred people. - Haituo Mountain Scenery - There are many traversal routes, and the green one represents the actual traversal route.
－－Big, Small, and Three Haituo Mountains
I only heard about Haituo Mountain quite late, also because of the “Top Ten Unknown Mountains”—
Jiucailing (Hunan); Chuandiding (Guangdong); Xiaowutai (Hebei); Aoshan (Shaanxi); Haituo Mountain (Beijing);
Wugong Mountain (Jiangxi); Jiuding Mountain (Sichuan); Xueling (Yunnan); Foding Mountain (Guizhou); Zhagana Mountain (Gansu).
To talk about the “Top Ten,” even if you exclude the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, there are more than hundreds of thousands of lesser-known, strange, and dangerous peaks.
Because the Green Field Forum, the birthplace of outdoor activities, and the organizers of the selection are both in Beijing, Mount Haituo's inclusion on the list is somewhat due to its proximity.
However, its vast meadows resemble a high-altitude version of Wugong Mountain; even in midsummer, golden lotus flowers bloom, making the scenery quite scenic.
In Beijing, there's no shortage of mountain hiking opportunities. There's Lingshan, Haituo, and the endless Great Wall.
With only one day, I decided to visit the renowned Mount Haituo first.
Because this area will be a venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics, Mount Haituo has been completely closed.
After some research, I selected Xidazhuangke and Yanjiaping as my trekking destinations. The specific itinerary will be determined later.
A day beforehand, Lao Zhang and I checked into the GreenTree Inn in Nancaiyuan, Yanqing District, so we could take a bus to our destination the next day.
The next day, we arrived in the dark at the Nancaiyuan Bus Terminal across from the hotel and boarded the first bus, route Y33, departing at six o'clock.
Besides the two of us, there was only one sturdy, older woman on the bus. By the looks of her luggage, she guessed we were going mountain hiking. The car sped along early in the morning, arriving at its final destination, Xidazhuangke Village, from central Yanqing in just over half an hour. Lao Zhang and I got out of the car and wandered around, a bit bewildered. Besides a few houses, there was a single management station, or outpost. There were sentries at the entrance to the mountain at Xidazhuangke, and the road to Yanjiaping was several kilometers long, also manned by a management station. Plans couldn't keep pace with changes; this was the first time I'd encountered a mountain closure. The woman who "appeared" just in time offered to drive us to Yanjiaping, quoting a hundred yuan. I thought it was a bit expensive given the distance, but Lao Zhang readily paid and got in the car, and we continued along the winding mountain road to Yanjiaping. The sun rose as we drove, and soon we arrived at Yanjiaping Village—we had crossed from Beijing to Hebei.
After getting off the bus, I saw a roadside checkpoint and asked the older woman to accompany us there. The locals were easy to talk to.
Unexpectedly, the guard refused to budge. He pointed to the camera on the checkpoint and said he had no choice but to let us pass.
After all, the older woman had taken the money, so she helped us with our persuasion. Finally, the old man relented, saying that as long as he couldn't see, it was fine.
The older woman then drove us a few hundred meters further, dropped us off on the side of the road, and told us to go up the hillside.
The car drove away, leaving the hillside covered in withered grass, as if it didn't matter where we entered.
So we threw ourselves into the weeds, taller than we were, ignoring the thorns and dead stalks that covered our heads and faces, and pushed forward with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
We gradually climbed the hillside and the sentry box was below. Fearing that the old man would catch up, we plowed for a while before finally settling down to rest.
－－The Yanjiaping checkpoint is in the lower right corner of the picture.
－－Sit down and rest.
After traveling all the way from Beijing to Yanqing, we arrived at the foot of the mountain in the early morning and in the dark. After another round of climbing and struggling, we finally found the main path into the mountains.
Lao Zhang had never climbed a wild mountain before. His first climb was a mountain thousands of miles away from home in the north, and the mountain was closed on his first try. Who knew that two months later, when we went to Jieli Peak together, we'd encounter another closure. Once again, we'd be scrambling through the forest like a whirlwind. Was it really a coincidence? . . . Once we were on track, we began our steady progress. It was cloudy that day, and the sun shone briefly in the morning before disappearing quietly. ...
Looking to the right on the road, the shimmering water is the Guanting Reservoir in western Beijing. Two years later, I'd pass it on my way to Xiao Wutai.
Rest in the woods, we both noticed our water bottles were frozen. Not only the water bottle, but Lao Zhang's iPhone was broken too!
Thankfully, the temperature was low, and the climb wasn't great, so he didn't feel thirsty. Lao Zhang took a couple of sips of hot water, acting like a veteran.
Lao Zhang's stamina is unfathomable. No matter how slow or fast he went, it felt like a leisurely stroll. This route was too easy for him.
－－Summer camping at Haituo Mountain
Of course, we arrived completely out of season; there were no lush green meadows or beer. We didn't see another person the entire trip.
Although we didn't have time to buy any so-called outdoor gear, Lao Zhang, after hearing all my stories about hypothermia, was fully armed for this trip.
A thick cotton coat, cotton gloves, double-layered cotton trousers, hot water, and some chocolate...
So, even though I gave Lao Zhang all the common sense about hypothermia, I was the one who nearly suffered from hypothermia at the summit.
A valley on the right leads down to Xidazhuangke. However, before that, we had to reach the summit.
We walked past a weather observation tower and hid our bag in the bushes (though there was no need to hide it, as there was no one around that day).
We walked through a pine forest, where the needles felt like felt and were very springy. After a short rest, we emerged from the forest and saw the peak of Xiaohaituo Mountain.
Overlooking the surroundings, pointing out the mountains and rivers... all gone. There's no way I could stay there for even a second longer!
My jacket felt like a single layer of clothing, swung tightly against my body by the wind.
Sprinting down the crest of Xiaohaituo Mountain took perhaps only a minute. My only thought at that moment was to descend quickly, to escape the hurricane.
Reaching the saddle, I gasped for breath as I watched Lao Zhang slowly descend from the distance.
Thanks to his all-cotton military coat, Lao Zhang didn't feel the cold; every inch of windproofing and warmth was a plus.
But in the few seconds it took to take my picture from the summit (my gloves were touchscreen-enabled, so I didn't need to take them off), his hands were paralyzed.
Lao Zhang was worried his fingers would freeze and necrotize, requiring amputation. Fortunately, the wind died down as I reached the pass, and I soon regained consciousness.
In countless previous summits, the fatigue of reaching the summit was always followed by a greater sense of relief and release, accompanied by a surge of pride.
Only this time, in a state of "semi-consciousness," I was so frightened by the rapid ascent and descent that I didn't even have time to glance at the distant Dahaituo.
Looking through the photos, it occurred to me—Da Haituo is taller (2241m), so why is the main peak Xiao Haituo (2198m), the one we climbed?
Looking at the provincial boundary, I think it's because Da Haituo is in Hebei, while Xiao Haituo is in Beijing.
This situation is quite common across the country. Furthermore, the definition of a "main peak" is indeed not based solely on altitude.
—The thin white line marks the border between Beijing and Hebei.
Returning to the shrubbery where the Tibetan bao was located, the wind was strong, but we were sheltered in the saddle.
The cold fog was still sharp, and frost had formed on the bao after just a short while. We reached the pass we had passed on the way up and began our descent.
Walking on knee-deep fallen leaves, this dry environment is truly prone to wildfires!
Compared to the gentle ascent, the descent had a nearly 300-meter greater drop and a shorter horizontal distance, resulting in a steeper slope.
Lao Zhang's sneakers couldn't handle the impact on his toes, so at my suggestion, he decided to try a "sitting-on-the-ground-travel-80,000-mile-a-day" pose!
Anyone who's climbed a mountain will understand this pose. Fortunately, the fallen leaves were thick, so my butt wasn't hurt, and at most, my pants were a little damaged.
The terrifying hurricane on the other side of the mountain had ceased to be heard as soon as we entered the valley. The only sound in the quiet was the rustling of footsteps on dead leaves.
Although the snow in the mountains had not yet melted, the chill of fear in our hearts had long since dissipated.
We descended to the asphalt road at the foot of the mountain. We met a kind local and quickly got a ride back to Xidazhuangke Village.
This is where we got off the bus this morning. It was the same management station, the same few sentries, and the village entrance was still deserted.
However, after completing the seven-and-a-half-hour crossing, we felt incredibly relaxed.
Old Zhang proudly took a commemorative photo in front of the management station. Then we took a bus to Yanqing and then back to downtown Beijing.
That evening, I tried the legendary "luzhu" (braised pork stew) for the first time, and it was quite delicious!
- Record of the Haituo Mountain Crossing on November 23, 2017
Number of days: 1 day, Average cost: 150 yuan, Updated: 2022.07.31
Number of days：4 days, Average cost: 1600 yuan, Updated: 2022.07.30
Number of days：3 days, Average cost: 3222 yuan,
Number of days：3 days, Average cost: 220 yuan,
Number of days: 2 days, Average cost: 1,000 yuan, Updated: 2020.10.19
Number of days:1 day, Average cost:200 yuan,
