The Fragrant Hills and The Azure Cloud Temple

In the western part of Beijing, a couple of kilometers more to the west than The Botanical Garden, lay The Fragrant Hills. The hills are not called that way, because they smell; one of the peaks of the mountains looks like a incense burner. The park is really worth visiting, so continue reading.

The Fragrant Hills

The cable lift; the most easy option

The Fragrant Hills is a vast area of mountain terrain. The two major attractions are the peak of the highest hill, and The Azure Cloud Temple. The Azure Cloud Temple will be considered later in this post. The way to the peak can be quite difficult. There are three ways to get there, but all finish off with steep staircases. The longest road, just beneath the cable lift, is the one with the most beautiful overviews of Beijing. Though, as many parts do not have fences, it may not be for the fainthearted. The road itself is 1.5 kilometer and goes 450 meters in vertical direction. When you finally reach the top, there are more than enough convenient stores located happily to overprice water and other fluids.

Afterwards, you can descend from the other side and walk several routes which lead you to numerous sights in the hills. I would recommend checking beforehand what the best route is for you, as you can get lost in the mountains! I really like The Fragrant Hills and I personally recommend it to everybody. As an advice: try to avoid the weekends.

The Azure Cloud Temple

Trees growing from the wall

The temple is located near the northern entrance. If you think you have left the park again, you are walking in the right direction (^.^ ). The temple has several halls, but also has multiple courtyards which are well worth visiting. One of the courtyards has trees growing from the walls of one of the temple halls.

Once you covered the full length of the temple, you end up at the shrine(?) which is quite beautiful to see. It is even possible to climb the shrine and view over the complex. Moreover, on top of the shrine are multiple white stuppas. Their reliefs are very nice to behold. All in all, quite worth the 5Y.

Looking down

The shrine at The Azure Cloud Temple