The
Western Hills (
Chinese:
北京西山; pinyin:
běijīng xīshān) refers to the hills and mountains in the western
part of
Beijing.
Geography
Being an
extension of the Taihang mountain range
from Hebei
Province,
the Western Hills cover about 17% of Beijing
municipality including most of Mentougou
and Fangshan Districts as
well as parts of Changping
, Haidian
, and
Shijingshan
. The Western Hills range in elevation from
100 m to over 1900 m above sea level and are visible from the city
on clear days. A mix of
deciduous and
coniferous forests and highland meadows
cover much of the Western Hills. Mountain streams feed into the
Yongding and Juma Rivers, which flow
through the Western Hills to irrigate the plains of Beijing.
Coal is mined in Fangshan and Mentougou
Districts. The Western Hills are rich with natural and historical
points of interest. They are known for cliffs, caves, river gorges,
and hot springs, as well as temples, historic homes, secluded
retreats and ancient ruins.
An area renowned for its scenery (it is sometimes also known as the
Western Hills Scenic Area), the Western Hills have long been a
retreat for Chinese scholars, religious men, and members of the
government and civil service.
Nearest to Beijing's Haidian District is the
Fragrant
Hills
Park, most famous for its fall colors.
Nearby is
the Beijing
Botanical Garden
and Temple of Azure Clouds
. The
Wofo Temple,
best known for its giant reclining
Buddha
statue, is located on the grounds of the botanical gardens.
To the
northwest of the Fragrant
Hills Park are Jiufeng (Vulture
Peak) Forest Park (鹫峰森林公园), Dajue
Temple, and Fenghuanling (Phoenix Ridge) Scenic
Area.
South of the Fragrant Hills Park is
Badachu
(八大处; literally "eight great sites") in Shijingshan District, which
is known and named for eight
Buddhist temples and monasteries. The
Western Hills of Shijinghan are also home to the
Laoshan Mountain Bike Course,
where the mountain biking competition of the
2008 Summer Olympic Games were
held.
Fossils of
the Peking
Man
were discovered in the caves of Dragon Bone Hill
near Zhoukoudian
in Fangshan District.
The
Western Hills also houses an underground command center of the
Chinese
military, a secret bunker-like
underground facility built with the assistance of the USSR
in the
1950s, and now serves a purpose similar to the United States Military's Pentagon
. The
Beijing
Subway extends all the way to the Western Hills, though the
last two stops are only used by the military, and are not open to
the public.
Mao Zedong lived in the Western Hills
briefly, and the
Politburo of the
Communist Party of China retreated there briefly in 1989.
Western Hills Group
The
Kuomintang also had a secret group
named Western Hills, which was set up in
1925
when
Sun Yat-sen's coffin was kept
there; the group's members, who were Buddhist, believed that the
presence of Sun Yat-sen's body could bless them.
The group had a political goal of ousting the Communist Left,
headed by
Mikhail Borodin, from
KMT.
External links
See also
References
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