Beijing Province hotels collection

Drawn freehand along the ridges, the Great Wall closes Beijing's horizon from Mutianyu to Jiankou, restored in places, given back to the trees in others. The mountains that carry it keep valleys of walnut and persimmon, monasteries set against the slopes, the Ming tombs lined along their avenue of stone animals. At the Fragrant Hills, the leaves turn red in October, and Beijingers come to see them as elsewhere one goes to the cherry blossom. The capital stays below, caught in its plain; from here, it can no longer be heard.