Beijing Yinshan Pagoda Forest Scenic Area | Unique Beijing Day Trip
The Yinshan Pagoda Forest Scenic Area (银山塔林风景) is a mountainous area situated in Beijing’s Changping District. Located at the foot of the Silver Mountains, the Pagoda Forest is about 70 kilometers from Beijing’s city center and about 5 kilometers from the Ming Tombs. Featuring beautiful natural landscapes and a forest of pagodas, this unique scenic area is a perfect day trip from Beijing to get out in nature! I took a weekend day trip here recently, and I’ll share how to get here and the best things to do. How To Get To the Yinshan Pagoda ForestYinshan Pagoda Forest Admission FeeThings To Do At The Yinshan Scenic Area Walk Around The Pagodas Hike Up to Middle Peak Top Scenic Points During the HikeReaching the Middle Peak TopMy Day Trip Itinerary To The Yinshan Pagoda ForestWhat To Pack for the Yinshan Scenic Area Visit the Silver Mountain Pagoda Forest Scenic Area Chinese name: (银山塔林风景 Yín shān tǎlín fēngjǐng qū) How To Get To the Yinshan Pagoda Forest This location is quite far and remote outside Beijing. There are several bus routes you can take to get here, but for the most convenient route I recommend booking a driver round trip. Once you’re at the scenic area, it’s really difficult to book a taxi back into Beijing city center. If you book a taxi using Didi, ask the driver if he would be willing to wait for you at the scenic area. I’ve had many drivers willing to wait, as it means they don’t need to make an empty trip back into town without passengers or pay. Our driver today, however, didn’t want to wait long for us, so he left and we had to arrange another driver to pick us up. Buses from Beijing: 314, 357, 376, 914, 919 Zhi 1, 947, 949 to Changping Dongguan, then take a small bus to the Yinshan Pagoda Forest. Yinshan Pagoda Forest Admission Fee CNY 20 from April 1 to October 31 CNY 15 from November 1 to March 31 Just walk up to the Tourist Center ticket counter to buy a ticket, easy peasy. Things To Do At The Yinshan Scenic Area There are two main parts to this site: the Pagoda Forest Area, and the hiking up the mountain. Walk Around The Pagodas At present, there are 18 pagodas remaining in the entire area, with 7 of them in the main pagoda area. Five of them were built during the Jin Dynasty and the other two during the Yuan Dynasty. All five Jin Dynasty pagodas are large multi-eave brick structures on huge Sumeru platforms.The two Yuan Dynasty pagodas are smaller, but each has its own characteristics. I loved walking around the pagodas. I’ve lived in Beijing for 5 years, and it was so cool to see this unique area! A few months ago I learned about this location from a friend, and it was cool to see it. (Did I bring a red dress to wear for some pagoda photos? You guys know me, of course I did.) Hike Up to Middle Peak Top After admiring the pagodas, it’s time to walk around! You can check this map board to see what kind of route you’d like to do. The main route people do is hiking up to Middle Peak Top, but there are a few routes to take to hike up, or just walk around the Pagoda area. We asked one of the guards around the area how long the hike to the very top would take, and he said around 50 minutes. I think that’s doable if you are in decent shape, and don’t stop for many breaks or photos. In total it took us around 1 hour 15 minutes because we did stop to look at things and take photos. Scenic Points During the Hike We enjoyed stopping along the way to look at the various scenic points. Many of them have historical roots in Buddhism, and it was fun to read the signs about these ancient traditions. The “Turning Waist” Pagoda is supposed to heal lower back pain. We stopped at the Chaoyang Cave. The Preaching Platform is where, according to legend, a monk in the Tang Dynasty named Deng Yinfeng, would stand and preach. It was such an enjoyable hike, with a lot to see and do, and plenty of places to rest in shade. There were also lots of cool rock outcrops to take photos. Finally a bit more hiking and lots of stairs…. Reaching the Middle Peak Top We finally reached the top and were treated to a gorgeous view of the mountainous area. You could see the Pagoda Forest down below. You could even see the Beijing Downtown Area from afar! (This pic zoom quality is really bad, but if you squint, it’s there!) On our way down. we stopped at a pavilion to eat our sandwiches we brought for lunch. After lunch we continued down, stopping for a few more photos. We ended up walking down. a different path than we came up which was nice. Overall I would say the hiking difficulty was 3/5. It’s
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The Yinshan Pagoda Forest Scenic Area (银山塔林风景) is a mountainous area situated in Beijing’s Changping District. Located at the foot of the Silver Mountains, the Pagoda Forest is about 70 kilometers from Beijing’s city center and about 5 kilometers from the Ming Tombs.
Featuring beautiful natural landscapes and a forest of pagodas, this unique scenic area is a perfect day trip from Beijing to get out in nature! I took a weekend day trip here recently, and I’ll share how to get here and the best things to do.
- How To Get To the Yinshan Pagoda Forest
- Yinshan Pagoda Forest Admission Fee
- Things To Do At The Yinshan Scenic Area
- Walk Around The Pagodas
- Hike Up to Middle Peak Top
- Scenic Points During the Hike
- Reaching the Middle Peak Top
- My Day Trip Itinerary To The Yinshan Pagoda Forest
- What To Pack for the Yinshan Scenic Area
- Visit the Silver Mountain Pagoda Forest Scenic Area
Chinese name: (银山塔林风景 Yín shān tǎlín fēngjǐng qū)
How To Get To the Yinshan Pagoda Forest
This location is quite far and remote outside Beijing. There are several bus routes you can take to get here, but for the most convenient route I recommend booking a driver round trip. Once you’re at the scenic area, it’s really difficult to book a taxi back into Beijing city center.
If you book a taxi using Didi, ask the driver if he would be willing to wait for you at the scenic area. I’ve had many drivers willing to wait, as it means they don’t need to make an empty trip back into town without passengers or pay.
Our driver today, however, didn’t want to wait long for us, so he left and we had to arrange another driver to pick us up.
Buses from Beijing: 314, 357, 376, 914, 919 Zhi 1, 947, 949 to Changping Dongguan, then take a small bus to the Yinshan Pagoda Forest.
Yinshan Pagoda Forest Admission Fee
- CNY 20 from April 1 to October 31
- CNY 15 from November 1 to March 31
Just walk up to the Tourist Center ticket counter to buy a ticket, easy peasy.
Things To Do At The Yinshan Scenic Area
There are two main parts to this site: the Pagoda Forest Area, and the hiking up the mountain.
Walk Around The Pagodas
At present, there are 18 pagodas remaining in the entire area, with 7 of them in the main pagoda area. Five of them were built during the Jin Dynasty and the other two during the Yuan Dynasty. All five Jin Dynasty pagodas are large multi-eave brick structures on huge Sumeru platforms.The two Yuan Dynasty pagodas are smaller, but each has its own characteristics.
I loved walking around the pagodas. I’ve lived in Beijing for 5 years, and it was so cool to see this unique area! A few months ago I learned about this location from a friend, and it was cool to see it. (Did I bring a red dress to wear for some pagoda photos? You guys know me, of course I did.)
Hike Up to Middle Peak Top
After admiring the pagodas, it’s time to walk around! You can check this map board to see what kind of route you’d like to do. The main route people do is hiking up to Middle Peak Top, but there are a few routes to take to hike up, or just walk around the Pagoda area.
We asked one of the guards around the area how long the hike to the very top would take, and he said around 50 minutes. I think that’s doable if you are in decent shape, and don’t stop for many breaks or photos. In total it took us around 1 hour 15 minutes because we did stop to look at things and take photos.
Scenic Points During the Hike
We enjoyed stopping along the way to look at the various scenic points. Many of them have historical roots in Buddhism, and it was fun to read the signs about these ancient traditions.
The “Turning Waist” Pagoda is supposed to heal lower back pain.
We stopped at the Chaoyang Cave.
The Preaching Platform is where, according to legend, a monk in the Tang Dynasty named Deng Yinfeng, would stand and preach.
It was such an enjoyable hike, with a lot to see and do, and plenty of places to rest in shade. There were also lots of cool rock outcrops to take photos.
Finally a bit more hiking and lots of stairs….
Reaching the Middle Peak Top
We finally reached the top and were treated to a gorgeous view of the mountainous area.
You could see the Pagoda Forest down below.
You could even see the Beijing Downtown Area from afar! (This pic zoom quality is really bad, but if you squint, it’s there!)
On our way down. we stopped at a pavilion to eat our sandwiches we brought for lunch.
After lunch we continued down, stopping for a few more photos. We ended up walking down. a different path than we came up which was nice.
Overall I would say the hiking difficulty was 3/5. It’s not super long, but it is just lots of steps up, so make sure you rest as needed and don’t try to over-do it. We also saw a few elderly people and kids doing this hike.
My Day Trip Itinerary To The Yinshan Pagoda Forest
- 8:35am: Taxi from Beijing
- 10:00am: Arrive at the Scenic Area, buy tickets for 20 RMB
- Short 5 minute walk to the Pagoda area
- 10:05 – 11:05: Enjoy the Pagoda area
- 11:15: Begin hiking up the mountain (Stopping for some photos and rest along the way)
- 12:25: Reach the top
- 12:45: Head down, stop for lunch
- 1:40: Reach the bottom and back to the scenic area
Once we reached the bottom we needed to wait for our new driver to pick us up. We bought some ice cold water, cokes, and watermelon that a lady cut up for us, and then we chilled inside the Tourist Center to wait.
What To Pack for the Yinshan Scenic Area
If you’re going in summer like we did, bring lots of sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat! If you are hiking, you will be in tree cover for about 2/3 of the hike, but once you break through the tree line, you will be exposed to the sun and it is HOT! Also walking around the pagoda area will be really hot as well.
Bring snacks and/or lunch. There are some little snack stalls outside the area with water, fruit, and snacks, but not any restaurants or places for a meal.
Also note: once you’re inside the area there is nowhere to buy things, so if you plan to hike, make sure to bring enough water up with you (For two people we had 2 Gatorades, and 3 water bottles, which was okay for us, but adjust for yourself).
In the morning before getting our taxi, we ordered Subway sandwiches to bring with us for lunch, and were glad we did! We also brought gatorade, and some granola bars.
Visit the Silver Mountain Pagoda Forest Scenic Area
Overall, this ended up being a fantastic day trip from Beijing! I love mountains, and especially loved how there were no crowds here ( I think the extreme Beijing heat right now may have played a part in that). But still, anytime I get to combine mountains with a cool cultural site I’m a happy girl!
Stay cool this summer!
