A Ming dynasty emperor once chose Beijing's picturesque Silver Mountain area as the location for his tomb, much to the ire of the locals. In an effort to prevent the tomb from being built, the residents renamed their villages with dark and scary names, such as Ghost and Blood, to scare the emperor away.
Today, this large scenic spot, only about 30 km northeast of Changping district in Beijing, is attracting new interest from city folk.Aside from the obligatory trip to the Great Wall, visitors to Beijing rarely stray beyond the Second Ring Road, although the capital's municipality encompasses more than 10,000 sq km.
But if one makes the effort, there are mountains to the north and west, with reservoirs, hot springs, sleepy villages and fascinating temples waiting for an able trekker.
This area gets covered with silver-like snow in winter, and hence its name. The mountain used to house a famous Buddhist shrine in north China and the highest peak here is 727m. Some of the oldest temples in this area were built around the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and the pagodas here were renovated during the Liao (AD 916-1125) and Jin (AD 1115-1234) dynasties, making them at least 900 years old.
