I love hiking, and I’m thankful that Guangzhou has so many places to go hiking. When I need some time alone in nature, I usually go to Baiyun mountain (白云山) because it’s right beside my house. It only takes about 10 minutes to walk to the gate, and I have a delightful path up the back way that has lots of side options depending on my energy levels. But sometimes it’s nice to try something different.
On Saturday morning, I had nothing planned for the day, and many of my friends were busy. That’s the perfect day to have a hiking adventure by myself. Originally, I just wanted to find a nice park that I hadn’t been to before, but when I asked Brandon for suggestions, he recommended a couple of hikes. One of them was a bit far from the city, but the other one was in the city, only about 25 minutes by taxi from my house. The starting point is not far from the Baiyun area of Line 3 metro.
It was cloudy and raining, so I decided to wait until the rain passed and then I would leave. Sometimes at this season, the rain comes hard and heavy for a few minutes and then is gone for the rest of the day. I was hoping that would happen for me on Saturday. Sometimes it’s tempting to give up on something because it’s rainy, but sometimes the rain just adds a different kind of beauty. Life is a bit like that also. Just because something is hard doesn’t mean we should give up. There may be a beauty there that isn’t as obvious at first.
The starting point of the trail is 京溪生态公园 (jingxi shengtai gongyuan; Jingxi ecological park). The entrance doesn’t look like much because you have to walk up a cement path with cement walls on both sides. But don’t worry because soon you will get into the park, and there the green plants and trees will fill your soul with joy. At least, they fill my soul with joy. Something about nature just helps me to focus on God and praise Him more easily.
Another bonus about this hike–it’s free!!!! Yay for wonderful free things!
The ending point of the trail that I did is 天河区桃园广场 (Tianhe qu, Tao yuan Guang chang; Tianhe district, Peach Garden Square). From the Jingxi park to this Peach garden park took about an hour and a half to 2 hours. I didn’t stop much, but I also didn’t walk super fast. I wanted to enjoy the trip.
When Brandon recommended the hike, he sent a video with some directions and information about the park, I watched the beginning, but I also decided I didn’t really want to follow something too strictly. The great thing about hiking in the city, is that the bottom of the mountain will have a village, and in the village, it’s not too hard to order a Didi and return to a subway or wherever you need to go. So I decided to just explore and see where I ended up.
Also, this hike didn’t have a lot of side trails. There were a couple of places where I could have headed back down the mountain rather than continuing up, and that’s what I did the first time I did this hike with friends, but this time I decided to just keep walking. There were a couple of maps and signs that guided me on the path that I eventually decided to follow. Some key points were missing some signs, but at those points, if you go down, you will probably return, and if you keep going up or straight, then you will be on the trail to keep going.
While I was there, further along on the trail, there were some resting pavilions that had drinks that you could pay for on the honor system. There was a QR code to scan, and you could just take the drinks that you wanted.
Now that you know how to get there and how to walk the trail, I want to share a little about my experience and the beauty of the trail. The rain from earlier had scared off most people, and I was thankful for that because when I hike alone, I don’t like to be around lots of strangers.
At the beginning, there were a few stairs going up, and I labored through those, enjoying the green plants and the beauty of the park. It started to sprinkle, and I came to one spot where I wasn’t sure which way to go. I took the path to the right and ended up at a basketball court with a little tent on the side with a rock in the middle. The rain was getting heavier, and I decided to stop under the tent on the rock just in time. I sat there while it poured. I was thankful for the tent and for my umbrella since some water still splashed and sprayed in.
I watched as the rain poured down, collecting in little ponds all around the court. I had the feeling that it was going to be a quick shower, and if not, at least I had a dry place to wait. An older man came along and joined me in the tent, but unfortunately, he was smoking. Thankfully, he finished pretty quickly and the air was clean and fresh. The rain slowed down, and the man left first. I waited a little longer until it was just sprinkling, and then I headed back up the mountain.
As I went up, the rain ran down the steps in a little river. It was so pretty.
The first destination was a mountaintop square. There were some stumps to sit on and a clearing where people could gather. In the video Brandon had sent, I’d seen this spot, and there were quite a few people. When I arrived, I was the only one. There was a place to go back down, but I pressed on.
Sections of the trail were paved, but there were also some dirt paths to follow. I enjoyed the dirt paths through the trees, especially with the mist hanging low in the trees. The mist matched my mood, and it was beautiful. When I came across look-out points, I could see the city, although sometimes the mist crowded around the mountains. Even though I was there early in the afternoon, the mist and rain kept the sun behind the clouds and when it did come out, it gave the feeling of that perfect evening light. The heat was bearable, although it was pretty sticky, and I was pretty sweaty. But that’s June in Guangzhou.
I loved the hike mostly because I didn’t plan very much and I just wanted to explore. I love finding places that are quiet and filled with nature even in the middle of the city. In a city of around 20 million people, this is a blessing. So I enjoyed the peace and quiet, I listened to the birds and I’m thankful that Guangzhou doesn’t have too many snakes. I didn’t see any, although I did see a very long earthworm! Longer than my shoe.
Since it was rainy, I was glad I had my umbrella, and I was also glad I wore my hiking shoes that had better traction. Since I was alone, I was very careful on the uphill and downhill dirt paths because I didn’t want to fall and twist my ankle without someone there to help. I did see a few other people on the hike, most of them solo hikers like myself and one couple that I talked to a little bit when I was wondering about the path. The woman was very kind and really wanted to speak English, so I spoke English with her. But she wasn’t really sure about the direction, so I just ended up using my map. That was the only time I turned on my map.
At my destination, 天河区桃园广场, I saw a nice-looking bathroom. I didn’t go inside, so I can’t confirm if they have toilet paper, but if you don’t like the natural bathrooms (aka, the trees), this would be a nice alternative.
The Peach garden park was quite lovely. It was a little small, but it was nice to walk around a little bit. It seemed to still be under construction, but I enjoyed the little pond and the nice boardwalk.
I may have been able to try to get a taxi here, but I wasn’t quite ready for my adventure to be over, so I decided to keep walking down the mountain. There wasn’t really a separate walking path, but thankfully there weren’t many cars. It was nice to walk down with the sound of water chasing me in the ditch on the side of the road. I even found a few little waterfalls that were quite pretty!
At the bottom of the road, I found a Buddhist temple that was partially done but still under construction. I asked someone if I could walk around, and he pointed me further up to the inside. I followed the road and ended up in the worship area. I’m not Buddhist, so I didn’t worship, but I enjoy looking at the architecture of Buddhist temples. I also wonder how much peace people have who follow these teachings. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of hope for someone to be with you in the hard times. I saw a room off to one side with a few monks who looked like they were in a classroom. I didn’t stop to stare because that seemed rude.
Back at the entrance, I paused, looking at the lily pads on the pond. Lilies are important in Buddhism for several reasons, but I mainly just enjoy the beauty of the water droplets on the lily pads. It is very peaceful. I wonder if they’re building the temple more for worship or more for tourism. Once they finish, it looks like it will be beautiful.
I took a bus back into the city and had roasted fish (烤鱼, kaoyu) with some friends. It was a wonderful adventure, and I do love finding new places in my city to explore!
