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Beijing - China

Located in around ten kilometers to the west of Beijing, the Fragrant Hills are one of the most popular sights in Beijing.  Accessible in all seasons, the autumnal colours attract thousands of tourists. 

The place is like a dream.  Every year, thousands of Beijingers and tourists alike visit the Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan).  Located in the mountains to the west of Beijing, this old 160 hectare imperial hunting reserve isn't just known for its flowers, but for the interesting rock formations, which when viewed from a certain angle, looks like a censer with three feet.

Autumn is the most popular season to visit the park.  At this time of the year, you can see an influx of visitors, and for one reason - to admire the changing colours of the leaves on the trees, "The Festival of the Red Leaves".  In the same way the Chinese like to photograph flowering trees in the spring, this festival is a real event for families.  This is all the more understandable in Beijing as a result of it's dry climate, where evergreens cannot survive.

Having gone up a street lined with chestnut sellers, cheap restaurants and souvenir shops, where loudspeakers announce to the passersby what's on offer, you get to the park entrance.  On this beautiful October morning, at 10am, the queue at the ticket desk is pretty long, but no one is bad tempered.

It is only once you have passed the park threshold that the ascent of the hill starts.  The paths are paved, and there are metal railings for support.  The ascent is slow as you have to adapt to the rhythm of the other walkers; the young, the elderly, couples, groups... the most numerous of the groups, however, are the amateur photographers, easily spotted thanks to their camera slung around their necks, their day bags over their shoulders, and a tripod wedged under their arms.  Serious photographers don't break a sweat when leaving the path in order to get the perfect shot of an elusive, red leaf.

A unique impression

A little higher up, on a bench, sit three OAPs nibbling on clementines.  "From time to time we come to Fragrant Hills Park.  Most of the time, there aren't too many people here, but today, the park is packed with people here to see the red leaves.  We're not interested in them", criticizes one of the three Chinese. A lot of the trees are still green, so those that are red attract a lot of attention, and people are snapping away.

All of a sudden, a knowledgeable old man informs a group of walkers that "the red leaves aren't on the main road, but further up", and points with his wrinkled finger towards a little path winding it's way up the mountain.  Reluctantly, the group decides to follow the advice of the senior, despite the lack of paving or barriers, and move off towards the narrow path towards the summit.