A foreign place I now call home - Huairou, Beijing, China

This will be my first detailed blog and I think I have to start with a place that not many will have heard of but the place that I have lived for 7 years. Huairou is one of many districts of Beijing, China and is known as the beauty of Beijing as it is surrounded by mountains, lakes and is home to one of the Great Wall tourist zones - Mutianyu. 

The Great Wall at Mutianyu

There are a number of sections of the Great Wall to visit with Badaling (closer to Beijing City Center) being the most popular but The Great Wall at Mutianyu is an obviously popular tourist destination in Huairou and has become more popular recently. It has also recently had a makeover which has improved it somewhat. I personally prefer Mutianyu section because of the Toboggan ride down 

The toboggan down the Great Wall is the highlight for me (but that probably because I have seen the Wall enough times). Its a little dangerous if not careful but that's what I like about it

Another favorite tourist spot in Huairou is Qing Long Xia (Dragon Gorge). There are many activities here and its all set around a huge gorge. There is also quite a decent Bungee Jump.

The bungee that is quite a decent size and again a little dangerous due to the lack of health and safety (but it adds to the buzz for me)

Misty day on the rafts

Smoking man at the top of the cable car

The view from the cable car. This has to be one of the highest and longest cable cars I have been on. The views are incredible

There are many other places to visit in Huairou and in recent times it has become a very popular tourist destination for Beijingers as the whole district went through a makeover ahead of the 2014 APEC which was held at Yanqi Lake, Huairou. A few new highways were built allowing easier access from Beijing and all shops in the town had to standardise their signs etc. The Kempinski Hotel was also built and is now an iconic landmark in Beijing

The Kempinski Hotel at Yanqi Lake, Huairou

Spring Legend Village. This village is based on a Swiss Village and was also part of the improvement of Huairou. Its a lovely little area and is where I live

I am now running out of available slots for pictures so I will not be able to complete the whole list of what is in Huairou but what I have shown are the most popular. What I have not shown is what life is actually like, as in off the beaten track. What its like to live here and be one of the only foreigners living here, what the food is like, what the transportation is like and how to do basic things. I will cover this in another blog though as I realise there is a lot to fit in and I want to keep this short(ish).

I will leave you with these.....

As shown before, this is one of my best shots and was taken in Huairou. This is overlooking the reservoir from a small viewing platform

The reservoir during sunset

I hope you enjoy this post about a place that you may not have even heard of and I hope you will enjoy the future posts that will be along the same lines.

Cheers,

Wes