f o r m t o p : C o u r t e s y o f T h o m a s G a lv e z ( 2 ) ; C r a i g S i m o n s
15-kilometer roundtrip from the base passes a dozen temples and provides a calf-muscle workout up 6,660 steps. After you catch your breath on top, check into a hotel and get up with the crowds to watch the sunrise; best of the bunch is the three-star mountaintop Shenqi Hotel (10 Taishan Tianjie, Tai’an; 86-538/822-3866; doubles from RMB1,000), which has a good restaurant, clean rooms and negotiable rates if you call in advance. Like China’s other holy peaks—Yellow, Hua and Emei mountains among them— the trail is crowded. But descend its back side for beautiful, less-traveled routes. T+L Tip The trailhead, at Hongmen Gate in Tai’an Town, is easily accessible from Beijing by train. The fastest is the D29, which leaves South Station at 7:47 a.m. daily and arrives in Tai’an before noon. LASHI HAI, YUNNAN For one of China’s most relaxed hikes, visit Lashi Hai, a lake in China’s southwestern Yunnan province that’s home to more than 70 species of migratory birds including hooded cranes, black storks and whooper swans. Winter is the best time to see birds, and visitors can add a few days in nearby Lijiang, a storybook town of cobblestone lanes and, these days, many tourists, at the base of the 5,596-meter Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. T+L Tip XinTuo Ecotourism (ecotourism.com.cn; day hikes from RMB400 including transport and guide) offers hikes and tours ranging from short excursions to weeklong trips, or take a 35-minute taxi ride from Lijiang and explore the lake on your own.
stretch of wall northwest of Beijing. Beijing Hikers (beijinghikers.com; hikes from RMB320) offers regular group trips and private tours to picturesque sections near Beijing. T+L Tip Some parts of the wall cut through military bases and other restricted zones, so be sure to check with a guidebook or local expert to plot your route. MOUNT KHAWAKARPO, YUNNAN Hikers can spend anywhere from a few days to more than a week on this Tibetan Buddhist pilgrimage route in Yunnan. Starting by the Mekong River, the trail wraps around the 6,800-meter Mount Khawakarpo, the tallest peak in Yunnan, and crosses five major passes. With an altitude change of 2,700 meters, it transects forests, pristine alpine meadows and picture-perfect villages chock full of stupas and monasteries; lucky hikers spot Asiatic black bears and red pandas. A word of caution: pilgrimage trails aren’t marked, so non-Tibetan speakers should hire a guide. Try Khampa Caravan (khampacaravan.com; seven-day trips from RMB7,300 per person for groups of three), a Tibetan-run company based in Yunnan. T+L Tip Visit in spring or autumn, when you’ll be joined by many friendly Tibetans who follow the circuit in search of good karma. »
Land of Vistas From above: A hiker climbs the Jiankou section of the Great Wall, northwest of Beijing; the view from the Shenqi Hotel; the Confucian cemetery in Qufu, a town near Mount Tai’s base.
LEG STRETCHERS | 2-7 DAYS THE GREAT WALL Actually a series of walls and towers built across northern China over some 2,000 years, the Great Wall provides everything from great day hikes to week-long rambles. One of the best routes is a two-day trek along Jiankou, or the “Arrow Notch,” a 400-year-old t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a
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