Getaway - Weekender in Cuandixia



Ok, so you didn't get it together to organize that trip to Bali this holiday season, or that trek to Xinjiang you've been planning to do the whole time you've been in China. Rest assured though, it's not too late to escape the city for a day or two. The Ming village of Cuandixia is right on our doorstep.

My own love affair with the village of Cuandixia began as a desperate escape from the city grind. One Saturday, at the end of a brutal week, I took the subway to the Pingguoyuan terminus, where I attempted to haggle for a taxi to Cuandixia (about RMB 150 one way) before settling for the cheaper and less comfortable option of a beat-up miandi (minibus). The two-hour ride proved a character-building experience – by the sixth near death experience, I had my conscience in order and was preparing to wrap up this life’s karmic itinerary in the cradle of jagged mountains.

When the miandi came to a jarring halt outside the village, and the fumes gave way to sweet afternoon air, my relief was so complete that I would have embraced just about anything. Fortunately, Cuandixia was a worthy object for my affections.

This village offers a snapshot of history, as it has been preserved virtually unchanged since being built by a single, extended family during the Ming dynasty. It contains some 70 courtyard homes, many of which have been converted into simple guesthouses. Time has been kind to this old coal-mining town. My eyes danced up the alleys, around each courtyard home, over the piles of drying corn, along the crooked road that borders the community, finally resting on the veranda I have come to associate with serene evenings and raucous meals with villagers who open their homes and hearts to city-slicker refugees.

There’s not much to do there, and that’s the point. Nightly accommodation can be found in any home that has room enough and averages RMB 50 per room, depending on your preference of kang bed, television reception and view. No skipping meals on this trip – wherever you happen to be exploring, you’ll be summoned to lunch by the family cooking nearest to you for a simple choice of family favorites and whatever happens to be in the kitchen or wandering around the backyard. The food is wholesome and cheap, but some Beijing basics may be pricier due to limited availability.

Siestas and strolls are as complicated as your plans should get. That is, I should mention, until nature calls, and you remember that rural China is special this way. Communal living means many restrooms are, well, public.

If you decide you need to earn your hearty dinner, take to the surrounding hills. There are other reasons to take to the hills, however, with several gorgeous hiking trails of various degrees of difficulty. The trail that circumnavigates the village is well maintained, not too physically exhausting and easily completed in a few hours. It offers idyllic views of the village, neighboring fields and temples. More arduous trails lead up through lush hills towards steep peaks. A restorative weekend in this picture postcard village – a choice location for film shoots, incidentally – leaves you prepared for anything Beijing can dish out. Including those brazen minibus drivers.

Cuandixia Village Daily 24hrs. RMB 20. Zhaitang Town, Mentougou District. (6981 9333) 爨底下村,门头沟区斋堂镇

Bus: From Pingguoyuan subway station take Bus 929 zhi (支) (RMB 7, 7.30am or noon departure, 2.5 hours) to Zhaitang Town. From there take a taxi (RMB 10-15, ten minutes) to the gate. Bus 929支 (twice a day, 7.30am and 12.40pm) goes all the way to the gate.

Car: Go west from Hangtian Qiao on West Third Ring Road along Fushi Lu (阜石路) until it merges – near Pingguoyuan (苹果园) subway station – into Jinding Nanlu (金顶南路). Stay on this road until you reach Jin’an Qiao overpass (金安桥). Turn right onto Jinding Xijie (金顶西街) and continue northwest for about 15 minutes – during which time the road’s name changes to National Road 109 (109国道) – until you reach a fork intersection. There, go left, following the sign toward Hebei (河北). Stay on this road for about 90 minutes past the Danli Tunnel ( 担礼隧道) and Yanchi Zhen (燕翅镇) until you reach the town of Zhaitang Zhen (斋堂镇), where you’ll see signs for Cuandixia (爨底下). Turn right and head northwest for another 5.5km to Cuandixia. Approx distance: 90km.

Excerpted and adapted from the Beijing Excursion Guide, published by Immersion Guides. Order your copy by calling 5820 7101 or e-mailing distribution@truerun.com