Labor Day Getaways: Escape to These Hotels on Beijing’s Perimeter

Getting out of Beijing for a short trip to the tropics during the Labor Day holiday this year may be a bit of a challenge at this late stage, because of overly expensive flights and other travel costs.

But it turns out that peaceful respite can be found in the comforts of rural Beijing. Here are three venues made for a relaxing weekend stay outside of Beijing proper.
 

Huairou District (Northern Beijing)

Huairou District, home to parts of the Great Wall, and perched on the glorious and green peaks of Jundu Mountains, is your best bet if you want to experience tranquility without leaving Beijing at all. While some properties in Huairou are well-known tourist destinations (including the guesthouses near the Mutianyu section of the Wall), why not explore a little further and see another side of the district?

Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing & Yanqi Island

Sunrise Kempinski Hotel and its smaller but equally beautiful sister property Yanqi Hotel, adorn Yanqi Lake in Huairou. You may have seen images of these high-profile properties online as they hosted the Belt and Road Forum in 2017.

Though mainly aimed at businesspeople, the hotels still offer a pleasant retreat for those wanting to get out of the Beijing hustle in a mere 90 minutes (around 60km north of CBD). While the lake looks very inviting, unfortunately, it's not yet possible to hire a boat to ride on it from the hotel directly (for that you will need to drive to the other side of the lake and pay a separate entrance fee for the park).

Regardless, there’s a huge area where you can get in touch with nature and enjoy the mountainscape and the blooming shrubs, a view that can be experienced in any of the guestrooms housed in Yanqi Hotel.

If you are a foodie and enjoy Chinese cuisine, you’ll find your comfort food at Yanqi Hotel. Its sister Sunrise houses a branch of Paulaner Brauhaus and also regularly holds musical performances by young students.

Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing & Yanqi Island
13 Yanxiu Road, Yanqi Lake, Huairou District (6961 8888 ext. 3600, WeChat ID: kempinski_yanqilake)
怀柔区怀柔雁栖湖雁秀路13号

Cedars Country Holiday Hotel

Around 30km further north of Yanqi Lake (around 2 hours from the CBD) lies a quiet valley on the banks of a small river, where you’ll find Cedars Country Holiday Hotel. The hotel which has ten elegantly appointed rooms arranged around a central courtyard. Four of the rooms are large duplex suites that look out over the river and the hills rising beyond, and each one has a unique theme or color scheme full of plush touches, setting Cedars apart from the rustic minimalism that many similar hotels and guesthouses favor. 

Get outside and explore the path alongside the river, and perhaps even do a little fishing in the summer (rest assured that the water is fresh and clean). Alternatively, a path climbs up into the hills opposite the hotel, with pretty pagodas to stop at along the way. The path is quite steep so be prepared for a bit of exertion. There are also plenty of scenic areas to explore within easy reach of the hotel.

Cedars Country Holiday Hotel
13-14 Shangwenpu Village, Liulimiao Town, Huairou District (132 6198 8851)
柏璟•山水赋 乡村度假酒店：怀柔区琉璃庙镇双文铺村13-14号院
 

Langfang, Hebei Province (South of Beijing)

Further south of Beijing’s Daxing District (where the new airport is located) is the prefecture city of Langfang in Hebei Province. Once you get there, you’ll feel the city is just yet another part of semi-rural Beijing, although much greener and more developed.

Seven-Cultivation Hotel and Ovation Health

Now on to Seven-Cultivation Hotel and its sister property Ovation Health – the hotel’s facade may be reminiscent of Peking University Library, but don’t let that look deceive you. The hotel’s interiors and rooms will give you a glimpse of what a futuristic Chinese resort that infuses traditional aesthetics into modern architecture looks like, and Seven Cultivation Hotel got it just right.

The hotel is named after the seven rituals (namely virtue, diet, kung fu, calligraphy, incense, music, and flower arranging) that help cultivate the mind and health, at least according ancient Chinese traditions. With that inspiration, the hotel-slash-resort transforms into an “academy” full of activities rooted in the aforementioned rituals.

If you’re looking for a retreat or to experience the other captivating facets of Chinese culture this Labor Day holiday, Seven-Cultivation Hotel and Ovation Health offer a range of all-inclusive packages, so you can enjoy access to several “schools” related to the seven rituals, a woodworking workshop, fan making, and more.

Ennova Seven-Cultivation Hotel and Ovation Health
Friendship Road, Langfang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Hebei Province (316 608 9999)
新绎七修酒店：河北省廊坊市广阳区廊坊开发区友谊路会展中心北侧

READ: New High-Speed Rail Route Cuts Beijing-Qingdao Travel Time to Under 3 Hours

This post originally appeared on our sister site beijingkids.

Photos courtesy of Yanqi Hotel, Cedars, Seven Cultivation Hotel