"Not just the city, but mountain ranges and plains!" Beijing Shi by mke1963

Beijing is one of those cities about which so much is known by the rest of the world: the Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, The Summer Palace and the Great Wall. However, Beijing is not just a city; it is also a municipality of 16,800 square kilometres - half as big again as The Lebanon or Jamaica, and twice as big as Cyprus. Beijing Mnicipality extends up to 150km from the city centre. To the north and west of Beijing, the eastern arm of the Taihangshan extends around to the north of Beijing, creating mountains of more than 2000 metres, higher than any mountain in the UK. While all the towns are dwarked by the capital, the cities of Zhoukoudian, Miyun, Huairou and Pinggu are big centres in their own right, but largely unknown.

Great Wall at Jiankou

China's best known cultural relic, numerous lines of the Qing Great Wall (and earlier walls) cuts through Beijing Municipality, but never enter the city or urban counties. The Great Wall is accessed by most at Badaling, but increasingly by tourists at Mutianyu and even Gubeikou (right on the border with Hebei province), but there are many quieter stretched of the Great Wall that snake across the ridges in between these known access points. The stretch of wall, in slightly derelict style but still magnificent can be seen at Huanghuacheng ( a favourite for local expats especially) and at Jiankou (a favourite for local hikers). Both can be reached as easily as Mutianyu, although a little further. Jiankou, in particular is unspoilt: absolutely no - repeat no - tourist facilities at all, and the views of the wall sweeping around the valley to the north are spectacular. Huanghuacheng has more facilities and the wall is much lower down, so easier to get to, being reachable within minutes of the roadside. At Jiankou you need to climb some 300 metres to get to it. The mountains to the north of Beijing are a great escape from the city, but do remember that at the weekends, the roads and valleys get very busy. There are thousands of restaurants and hotels in this whole area, and Beijing is increasingly coming out to enjoy the fresh air and scenery just an hour north of the third ring road.

Yet more Jiankou Wall

The attractiveness of the mountains is in their raw grandeur. They are forested, but much of this has been through fairly recent reforestation programmes. In fifty years, it will all be cloaked in cypresses, junipers, Scots pine, larch and beech, but for now, it is mainly low shrubs and clusters of older trees. The scars of huge cliff faces are visible for long distances and on many ridges, the Qing Great Wall outlines the very summit, punctuated by barrachs, watch towers and beacon towers. Deep down in the valleys, more mature trees of beech and Chinese plane and Chinese scholar tree shade roads, villages and quiet streams. In the terraced fields, maize grows and the fields are edged with larch and poplar. Higher up, groves of chestnut trees, walnut trees and a variety of fruit trees - apricot, peach, apple, pear and cherry fill small gaps on more marginal soil. It is a wonderfully pastoral area, with small villages. In most of these villages, even new building tend to use the older style of architecture, leaving many outstanding houses around. The owners are often keen to show visitors around. In summer, the paths and tracks and many farms and houses are filled with wild flowers. Wild China may be a lot more accessible than you think!

• Pros:The scenery, pastoral lives, Great Wall
• Cons:Over-exploitation of some areas
• In a nutshell:The great mountains and plains of Beijing!