Sunshades and sun lotion are indispensable for any trip in summer, but not for visitors to Bailixia Gorge. This forest park in Laishui county, Hebei province, is just three hours by train from Beijing.

The gorge is named after its zigzag path that extends more than 100 li (50 kilometers).

Many people from the capital and nearby cities spend the weekends there, for the scorching sun rarely penetrates through to the bottom of the valley. Only the vegetation crowning the cliffs are bathed in the golden light of the sun.

With an average temperature of 23 C in summer, the gorge offers the best escape from the stifling heat of the cities.

Besides the cool weather, the gorge is also home to extensive geographical features, ranging from mountain belts formed in different ages, rocks, and caves to river valleys, waterfalls, and springs.

Every single rock in the park is more than 100 million years old, and the oldest ones could even date back to at least 3 billion years.

With long exposure to wind, fog, rain and snow, this long, narrow valley is awash in precipitous and breathtaking sights, of which the 17.5-km long Haitangyu valley with its cliffs soaring into the sky, is a must-see.

Many movies and TV plays such as A Journey to the West and Three Kingdoms were once shot here.

Other attractions along the valley include the thrilling "Tiger Mouth", the narrow "Way of Skyline", the lifelike "Image of Budda", and the grand "Tianqiao Overpass". Visitors may need to squeeze through some parts, the narrowest of which is only 70-cm wide.

Also, as long as you are fit and courageous, do not miss climbing the plank road, which leads you to the highest point of the gorge. Each of the more than 2,800 wooden steps stands for a year in history since 841 BC, and carries a record of the big event of that year.

Most visitors like to take a short rest on the step of their year of birth.

Those not up to the challenge can opt for the cable car that goes right up to the peak.

Keep the entrance ticket as it has a printed map of the gorge on the back.

      

(China Daily July 25, 2009)