One mountain, two mountains, the mountains are far away, the sky is high, the water is cold, the water is cold, and the lovesickness is maple leaf.
In the golden autumn of October, on the old friend Pofengling hidden in a secluded place in the west of Beijing, a red leaf feast with Chinese red as the background slowly kicked off. Speaking of Pofengling, I am no stranger. The four seasons have different scenery. Girls' hearts are full of spring, and the sumac flowers are dyed pink and tender all over the mountains and fields; in the colorful golden autumn, the sumac leaves make the place red with passion and heroism. Take my mother to revisit Pofengling, live in Cotinus cotinus Blossoms, and see a different and colorful Beijing on a golden autumn weekend.
Enjoy the most spectacular red leaf feast in North China
In the crisp autumn of October, I can't help but want to go out and play every weekend. It coincides with the official opening of the 8th Red Leaf Festival of Zhoukoudian·Youlan Mountain (Pofengling) in Fangshan District. I can’t wait to take my mother to see the most beautiful time of the year in Pofengling.
Pofengling is the largest gathering place of wild sumac in North China, with 10,000 mu of lush vegetation. It is praised by the National Geographic magazine as the most spectacular mountainous red leaf landscape in North China. Every autumn, the forests are all dyed, like clouds and brocades, like a dream, and nature dresses it up as a beautiful fairy tale world.
This year's Red Leaf Festival spans from early October to November 15th and lasts for more than a month. My mother and I went to the mountain on the weekend of October 13th. Unfortunately, the temperature was not cold enough and the red leaves were not completely red. Looking at the photos in October last year, the most shocking thing in the Red Leaf Festival is the myriad leaves all over the mountains. The red without any regrets will make you marvel at the magic of nature. When Cotinus cotinus all over the mountain is gradually lit up by the autumn sun, large blocks of color are embedded on both sides of the vast valley, which makes people mesmerized.
Tourists who come here especially for the name, walking on the mountain road, seem to have already integrated with the red leaves in different shades, and the joy is also overflowing on the face with the brilliant red leaves. The autumn temperature in Beijing is pleasant, and the mountains will not be cold during the day. I took my mother for a leisurely walk on the mountain road. After walking for more than two hours, I didn't feel tired.
Under the most touching sumac tree, my mother is also in a particularly good mood. A small scene is a good place for her to check in and take pictures. On Pofengling, there are many corner pavilions, stone tables and stone benches that blend into the red leaves on the way to check in, for tourists to rest.
The earliest red on the mountain is the ivy, which is entwined on the ivy on the stone wall and the stone bench, and it is also the habitat of the mountain elves. When we walked halfway up the mountain with our mother, we turned back, and it is said that when we reached the highest point of Yingzui Rock at 3000 meters in Pofengling, we could see colorful colors as far as we could see. At sunset, the afterglow passes through the mountain pass of Coffin Mountain (meaning "seeing the coffin to get rich"), and it will be in harmony with the red leaf forest.
In addition to enjoying the beautiful scenery of red leaves, more leisure and entertainment content will be provided during the Red Leaf Festival, such as traditional intangible cultural heritage market, Fangshan authentic mountain products fair, Pofengling special rural feast, parent-child farming experience and other exciting experiences. After feasting your eyes on the mountain with your mother, you can also taste the rural flavor and feel the unique charm of intangible cultural heritage when you go down the mountain. It's so fun to rub corn kernels with my mother.
Mountain Goods Market, Intangible Cultural Heritage Market, Delicious and Fun Countryside Market
The Chinese red in Pofengling is a cultural background. The intangible cultural heritage market innovatively set up by the Red Leaf Festival has specially selected several intangible cultural heritage art inheritors from Fangshan and surrounding areas. These craftsmen will show their unique skills at the bottom of the box. surprise. And the noisy market in the countryside will always bring people a long-lost life touch. The annual red leaf festival must keep the mountain products. This year, not only the top 60 unique agricultural products were selected in Fangshan, but also a comprehensive Upgrading, various special products and gourmet entertainment programs that integrate Fangshan folk handicrafts also appear in the big concentration.
After admiring the red leaves, shopping around a wide range of special products, buying some mountain products or handicrafts to take home, this part is also my mother's love. Mountain melons and fruits are pure natural gifts. Mountain persimmons are sweet and glutinous, small tomatoes are sweet and sour and juicy, freshly picked pumpkins are crisp and fresh, and there are many kinds of mountain fruits and vegetables to experience the freshness and purity of mountains on the tip of the tongue.
Roasted dried fruits in the mountains, melon seeds, walnuts, and pine nuts are all placed in front of them. They are all hand-fried by villagers according to traditional methods. The sweet and crisp taste has a long aftertaste. Shanhuo Daji has introduced many well-known domestic and foreign snacks to the food street. In the Beijing famous food "Jingyi" vermicelli experience area, which was founded in the 11th year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1873), you might as well try the Q-bomb and chewy Strong hot and sour powder, excellent taste.
If you are tired from shopping, you can also go to the storytelling restaurant outside Shanhuo Daji, try a big bowl of tea made from local wild skullcap, calm down and listen to traditional storytelling, and enjoy the leisurely time in the red leaves. In addition, it originated from Liu’s ancient hand-made incense technique of processing spices for the former Qing court; Liu Wentian, the national windmill non-heritage inheritor who has been making windmills for 50 years; Roasting chicken skills; traditional Chinese folk dough figurine skills originating from Shandong, Shanxi, and Beijing... Various intangible cultural heritage skills are amazing.
Bring your mother to live in the Cotinus Blossom B&B
The red leaves all over the mountain and the autumn scenery in the wild, I returned to the homestay at the foot of the mountain with a good mood. This year, I took my mother back to the Cotinus Blossom B&B where I stayed last year. The beautiful design and the beauty of the years have once again amazed us.
Come to Fangshanpo Fengling, in the most beautiful season, to see the most beautiful red leaves, you must also live in a beautiful red leaf house... There are more than 30 country houses gathered around the Pofengling Red Leaf Festival, each with its own characteristics. The grandma’s house, which is only a 5-minute drive from the foot of the mountain, is an old house in the late Qing Dynasty that has passed through a hundred years.
Of course, my mother and I chose the exquisite and unique "Sunflower Blossoms" again, after all, old love is hard to give up. Red brick walls and shale tiles, hydrangea courtyards, fireworks houses... leisurely strolling, time seems to slow down a bit.
Taoye Valley, surrounded by mountains and rivers, has stone walls, wooden doors and lattice windows, and every brick and tile reveals the rural style of "picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence". There are various indoor Kangs, bunk beds, and large beds. While enjoying the scenery of Youlan Mountain, you can also enjoy the tranquility of the private courtyard.
The 10,000-acre mountains of Pofengling are dyed red by the autumn sun, creating a feast of red leaves all over the mountains and plains. It is a rare and beautiful weekend to enjoy the picturesque forests with your family and discover the Chinese red that belongs to your heart.
The butler service of sumac flowers is based on the butler service of the hotel, but it is higher than that of the hotel. The housekeepers here are all village aunts who have undergone strict training. After being well versed in the service principles, they still maintain the enthusiasm like a blind date. The housekeepers and aunts are responsible for the daily life of the small courtyard, and are also responsible for making exquisite delicacies from natural ingredients in the mountains.
The butler-style service with just the right temperature makes "Sunflower Bloom" seem like another home. The housekeeper aunt, who is about the same age as my mother, gives people a sense of down-to-earth intimacy. The house in the courtyard is full of gifts from the mountains, and the butler's skillful hand has decorated the small courtyard in the mountain stream as beautiful as Alice's Wonderland of Flowers. Log-colored tables and chairs and pottery tableware are fully integrated with nature. Flowers and organic ingredients from the mountains are the protagonists on the table. The private house delicacies cooked by the housekeeper bring the simple taste of the mountain residence.
Regardless of age, the wild hawthorn juice brewed by the housekeeper is still everyone's favorite. Big bowls of stewed beef brisket with radish, braised pork ribs, stewed beans, and a bowl of yam, sweet potato and millet porridge for breakfast, every dish is the taste of my mother.
Last spring and this autumn, I took my mother to Pofengling twice to enjoy the beautiful scenery on weekends, which is very special. The pink in spring transitions to the crimson in autumn, and it is time to create a beautiful painting in Pofengling.
Whether it's the beautiful scenery on the mountain or the quiet and slow time in the Cotinus Blossom B&B, the mother and daughter have found a beautiful break in their busy lives. At this time, the red leaves on the mountain were just right, and it was still too late to take the family there.
And traveling with the family, any time, there is time.
Details of the 8th Youlan Mountainside Fengling Red Leaf Festival in 2019
Tickets for the Red Leaf Festival: Adults: 50 yuan/person; seniors (over 65 years old, including 65 years old), students (with student ID card), active soldiers (with military ID card) half-price 25 yuan/person; children: free for children under 1.2 meters (Visit with guardian).
Time reference for viewing red leaves in Pofengling:
October 8th - October 14th - the early red period
October 15th-October 31st - the peak red period
November 1st - November 15th - the last red period
PS: The specific red leaves will change due to the current climate
More exciting activities:
→Discover the most beautiful autumn day of Chinese Red Punch, and pursue your own journey of red leaves
→Multiple red leaf viewing routes, climb to the top of Yingzui Rock to enjoy the scenery
→ Intangible cultural heritage market, face-to-face experience of rural crafts and culture
→Take a look at the mountain goods fair and taste the taste of the countryside in autumn
→Taste Pofengling’s special rural feast and experience the feast of wild taste
→ Play in the parent-child play area and have fun with your children
→ Taste various flavors of snacks and food street
→Experience the production and delicacy of traditional vermicelli in "Jingyi"
→Drink a large bowl of original Scutellaria baicalensis tea and appreciate traditional storytelling
→ Picking melons and fruits in the surrounding area, the family enjoys the fun of the mountains in autumn
→Grind corn in the stone mill, and experience the fun of farming with children
→ At the Rose Pavilion in the middle of the mountain, make sweet flower cakes by yourself
→Stay in a humane mountain homestay, enjoy the red leaves and taste delicious food
