Cuandixia Village

Cuandixia was founded in the Ming dynasty on the old trade route west from Beijing, and because the route declined and the village was too remote to modernise, around seventy courtyard houses from the Ming and Qing periods survive terraced up a steep hillside in grey brick and stone, with carved gate piers, screen walls and slogans painted during the twentieth century still on the walls. Around thirty families remain, many running simple guesthouses and serving local food, and the village has become a weekend destination for Beijingers and a location for period films. A path climbs above the village for the view down over the stacked roofs.

What you actually see

• The terraced courtyards - seventy Ming and Qing houses stacked up the slope.
• The carved details - gate piers, screen walls and window lattices.
• The painted slogans - twentieth-century political slogans left on walls.
• The viewpoint - the path above showing the village's layered roofs.

When to go

April to May and September to October; autumn colour in the hills is strong in late October. Winter is cold and many guesthouses close. Weekends bring crowds from Beijing, and weekdays are far quieter.

Honest expectations

The journey takes two to three hours each way from central Beijing on winding mountain roads. Accommodation is basic guesthouse rooms in old houses, often with shared facilities and limited heating. The village is small and can be walked in an hour.

Nearby

Tanzhe Temple lies back toward the city; the Western Hills surround the village.