Live Your Best Lives
Photos and Text | Muchengzi
The more winter, the more exciting it is!
With the 2022 Winter Olympics approaching, more and more winter sports featuring ice and snow are being offered in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
Among these, the most exciting outdoor sport is undoubtedly skiing. Without rolling in the snow, how can you truly experience the unique joy of winter? December is almost over, and 2020 is about to slip by. Let’s get those skiing trips planned!
Route: Beijing Yuyang International Ski Resort – Pinggu Chrysanthemum Banquet – Jinhai Lake – Jingdong Karst Cave
In this weather, every new place you reach is an adventure!
Beijing Yuyang International Ski Resort is about an hour's drive from downtown Beijing. Shuttle buses run between Dongzhimen and Ciqikou, making transportation very convenient. I have to say here that Yuyang’s epidemic prevention and security checks are very thorough. Before entering the parking lot, every passenger’s health status will be checked, and they will be checked again before entering the visitor center. Don’t be bothered by the hassle, as everyone is responsible for epidemic prevention. A year later, I returned to Yuyang Ski Resort. Same scenery, different mood. Upon entering the center, you'll need to pay a deposit to apply for a ski pass. There's also a self-service card, which eliminates the need to queue. It's incredibly convenient and time-saving. With a card in hand, you'll have everything you need for food, drinks, and fun. The card can be used to rent equipment, snowsuits, protective gear, lockers, and the cable car to access the advanced slopes. There are two beginner slopes, three intermediate slopes, and two advanced slopes, each with varying slopes and lengths. Magic carpets and cable cars are also available to cater to different levels of experience. There's a café on the first floor of the visitor center, decorated in a warm pink hue. A hot drink will instantly recharge your batteries. The second floor houses a clean and tidy buffet restaurant with a wide selection of dishes. There's also a food court outside, where you can refuel and enjoy the scenery after a long day. I tried skiing here last year, and this time I upgraded to snowboarding. The instructor was as humorous and thorough as ever, but I did fall more this time than last time. With skiing, you get used to it the more you fall. Luckily, I rented a little toy ski, so it didn't hurt at all.
The secret to keeping your dreams warm is this hot soup on a winter night.
Besides admiring chrysanthemums and making tea, can you eat them?
Just after getting off the ski slopes and taking off my snowsuit, I suddenly felt extremely cold and craved something warm. Less than half an hour's drive away, you can enjoy Pinggu's specialty chrysanthemum hotpot. Unlike spicy, fresh, and strong-flavored hot pot, chrysanthemum hot pot reduces internal heat and relieves dryness. It was invented by Tao Yuanming and even Empress Dowager Cixi praised it highly. A vibrant array of yellow, purple, and white chrysanthemums fill the table. The fresh, tender chrysanthemums are harvested in under an hour, ensuring maximum freshness. Don't overcook them for too long; once the pot is boiling, rinse them seven times for a refreshing aroma.
The warmth melts your taste buds, chases away the winter chill, and warms your entire body. Gather around the hot pot with family, friends, or family, enjoy a sizzling hot pot, feast on chrysanthemum tea, and finally, enjoy a sound sleep until dawn!
Jinhai Lake, Beijing's most stylish resort. With Jinhai Lake at its center, the surrounding landscape is a picturesque blend of rolling hills, lush trees, fragrant wild flowers, and shimmering cloud shadows. It's said to be a vibrant area, originally formed by a canyon ruptured by a 1679 earthquake. After numerous renovations, it became Beijing's third-largest reservoir. After a hearty breakfast, take a morning run along the lakeside, letting the fresh air fill every cell. Ride the wind and waves and experience the beauty of Jinhai Lake in winter. There’s always some unexpected warmth!
The day after rolling in the snow, Chengzi wanted to wear a skirt and admire the 1.5 billion-year-old landscape in the "Fudong" cave, which is warm in winter and cool in summer, with a constant temperature all year round. Located east of Heidou Village in Pinggu County, Beijing, Jingdong Karst Cave is known as the "World's Greatest Ancient Cave." The cave stretches over 2,500 meters, including a 100-meter-long waterway. A wide variety of sedimentary rocks can be found within the cave, including goose pipes, stalagmites, stone pearls, stalactites, stone pagodas, stone curtains, stone figures, stone animals, and stone flowers. Among them, the most spectacular sight is the "Dragon-Painted Heavenly Book" with relief features on the cave wall. Its unique shape is closely related to the saying "three parts likeness and seven parts imagination". Under the colorful lights, these stalactites are vivid and lifelike, resembling pieces of floating clouds, lotus flowers, or clusters of giant mushrooms. The landscape inside the cave is crystal clear and magnificent, reminiscent of a gathering of immortals, a shimmering curtain of water. Its ancient geological age, unique strata and lithology, and singular natural beauty make it a treasure trove of both aesthetic appreciation and scientific research.
Beauty will always meet beauty, so are people and things.
“The world is vast and boundless, like a sheet of snow; life’s ups and downs are like two sticks.” The sun is shining brightly this weekend. This winter, let’s meet up in Pinggu and gather a few friends to visit Fudong, enjoy the winter snow, and enjoy the chrysanthemums. Only then will we make the most of this wonderful winter.
Number of days：4 days, Average cost: 4,000 yuan, Updated: 2020.08.19
Number of days: 2 days, Average cost: 500 yuan,
Number of days：4 days, Average cost: 2000 yuan, Updated: 2022.07.15
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Number of days：3 days, Average cost: 999 yuan,
