Shidu Scenic Area

I am becoming braver, communicating in Chinese, and am going to places that foreigners rarely go. This time, I found myself taking in all of the sights and sounds around me. I found out why oranges are given to the Buddha. I found out why Chinese men pull their shirts up. I found out why the Chinese place sticks between two slabs of rock. I bought the girls horseback rides and took us all around the mountain without speaking any English.

We had a 3 day weekend for Dragon Boat Festival, so I decided to take the girls up to the mountains. I originally wanted to go to another city in China but there weren't any train tickets available anywhere. I am actually glad that we weren't able to get any train tickets because this was a really fun vacation.

I booked a taxi ride directly from the school. It took about 3 hours to get there because of so much traffic.

When we got there, we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Even after living in Beijing for 10 months, we still freak out when we find a chicken head and feet in our soup.

Shidu is located in Shidu Town, Fangshan District, Beijing. It is a river valley about 20 kilometers long that runs along the Juma River. There are mountains and waters, cliffs, waterfalls, and streams. There are also many farmhouses near the river bank where you can taste authentic countryside cuisine and enjoy a taste of village life.

We woke up the next morning and had a buffet breakfast. I tried to book a taxi but no one responded. I felt comfortable enough to walk us to the bus stop and take the bus. It dropped us off at the main scenic area. We took the bus everywhere from that day on.

I walked up to the ticket counter and tried to communicate the best I could in Chinese. A nice man said, "What do you want to play?" The girls really wanted to do a raft ride so the man told me to buy a plastic case for my phone. I took the girls on a long raft ride that went down the side of the mountain. it went so fast and it was the scariest water ride that I had ever been on.

We then went to Shidu Juma Park. It is an amusement park that has a zipline on the cliff beside the river in Quilin mountain. The Juma River originates from the depths of the Taihaing mountains.

We took a Gondola to the amusement park.

We rode many rides up there.

We hiked up the 98 steps Waterfall.

The we did a zipline off a cliff. That was so fun! I loved the feeling of the wind blowing me so fast.

After that, we walked across a long bridge into an area full of places for praying in front of Buddha. We saw a really neat Buddha praying ceremony. Everyone was leaving oranges for the Buddha.

In Asia oranges are given to the gods as a prayer for good fortune and lots of money. Especially during Chinese New Year, people make offerings of oranges. The time of year signals a new beginning and Asian people wish for luck and wealth to come their way in the coming year. Orange trees or smaller kumquat trees are placed in people's doorways to encourage fortune. Gifts of oranges are traditionally given to friends and business partners on the second day of the Chinese New Year, to remember an Emperor who gave oranges to his staff long ago on that very same day.

We started noticing that Chinese men tend to pull their shirts up halfway to let their belly hang out. Only chubby men do it, so Camilla called them "Buddha".

Men all around China take part in the custom of walking around in public in the summertime with their bellies exposed. Instead of taking off their shirts, men will roll up their shirts halfway up their torsos in order to expose their midriffs. And although men of all ages do it, the ones with the biggest bellies are always the most prominent.The various reasons behind this custom lies in Chinese thinking. The belly is an important receptacle for "qi," energy in Chinese medical theory, meaning that exposing it will help in getting rid of excess amounts (as will covering it up help in storing it). Secondly, rolling up the shirt instead of taking it off allows one to maintain their modesty, leading to "compromises" like this. And lastly, even though this is done publicly, this kind of behavior is tolerated because no one will call them out on it.

Camilla found a green snake in the river on our first evening and refused to go in the water after that.

Carly caught a frog and asked me if I would let her keep it while we were in Shidu. I stupidly said, "Yes" and she lost it twice. We were pull out beds to find the darn thing. We ended up letting it loose.

On our second day, we went horseback riding.

We walked hiked Gushan Mountain Village and saw Yi Xian Tian (One Line of Sky) and hung out there all day. The girls played on the rocks while I relaxed.

We noticed that the Chinese place sticks in between the rocks. When Chinese visitors come, they break of branches from nearby trees, reduce them to sticks, and put them vertically in the otherwise vacant areas between rock slabs. But before they wedge the stick in they do something else: They make a wish. It is believed that for as long at the stick remains upright and positioned between the rock strata, the wish will come true.

On our last night, we got to barbecue our own food in the hotel patio. Apparently I was doing it wrong, because a Chinese man came up and said, "Let me teach you how to barbecue." The girls loved this experience and they even got to do some fireworks with the other kids.

On our last day we went across a glass bridge.

Shidu Shiyan Glass Skywalk is built on the top of Queqiao Ridge; the transparent glass bridge will give you a unique sense of thrill and excitement.

You can stand on the skywalk and look around at the grand mountains and cliffs. You can also look down and enjoy the clear view of the Juma River and the magnificent terraces.