12 Jul 2021
I live in Beijing. I booked this private tour to escape the city for a few hours and it was just what I expected. Qing and her driver picked me up from the city centre at 8:30am and we arrived to Longqing Gorge about 2 hours later. I was surprised to see that it was not as busy as I thought it would be for a Saturday. Most visitors were Beijingers looking to enjoy a break from the city as well.
First we went up the Dragon Escalator to reach the top of the dam. From there we hopped on a boat to enjoy the cruise along the gorge. The scenery was very beautiful and Qing explained the different rock formations that could be seen. This was my favorite part of the trip and I wished the boat ride was longer. When we got off the boat there were several activities available: bungee jumping, canoeing, zip lining. We hiked up the hill to visit the quiet and beautiful Diamond Temple, the smell of incense burning was lovely. The second boat trip took us back to the cable car, which took us to the other side of the gorge where we hiked many steps to reach the highest point for views. Unfortunately, the sky was a little hazy, but on a clear day the views from above would have been spectacular. Qing was lovely! She was happy to take breaks when I got tired and we had interesting conversations about Chinese culture.
On our way back, we had lunch at a small, family-run restaurant near the Dragon Escalator. Qing ordered some tasty dishes for us and we enjoyed a quiet lunch. Again, the place was not busy at all. The owner of the restaurant was very kind to drive us back down to the entrance of the gorge (where our driver was waiting for us), which I appreciated very much because it would have otherwise been a 15-minute walk in the heat on a full stomach.
Qing is a very cheerful, friendly and knowledgeable guide who made this visit very nice. I enjoyed my day trip out of Beijing and I would recommend it to anyone looking for something new to see on the city outskirts.