Lonely Great Wall

Alone with Everybody.

Cuandixia Village, Beijing 爨底下, 北京

Cuandixia or 爨底下 in chinese, is a place about 2.5hrs bus ride away from Beijing. We went in Mar 2012 which wasn’t exactly what you’ll call the peak period. It’s a nice place that you can take a day’s trip out of chaotic Beijing and enjoy a lil’ peace and tranquility.

We heard from the locals that during the lull period, they will live in other parts and then come back here when there’s dough to make. We still manage to grab our much deserved brunch there. Nothing to shout about, but it’s nice after putting overly oily and spicy food into our bellies from the capital.

From the official website:

It was first built in the Ming Dynasty, where the Han’s Family has inhabited. After its development for several generations, it became a flourishing inn on the post road, populated by many people. Its economics is dominated by farming, combining farming with trading, ploughing with reading. Chuandixia village, having a long history of several hundreds of years, has retained the beauty of traditional culture, relics and vernacular environments.

We didn’t see much ploughing (no cattles spotted) and most definitely nothing from the Ming Dynasty. But still, the serenity calms me jitters and made the trip worthwhile.

Directions (correct as of 21st Mar 2012):

Take subway Line 1 to Pingguoyuan 苹果园 Station, and then bus 892 to Zhai Tang (around 2hrs), then take one of the black cabs (or as the locals would say 打车) up to the village (around 15mins).