Continuing forward, we crossed a highway bridge called Shuibaozi Bridge. At the north end of the bridge, we saw the entrance to Yunmeng Gorge. Next to the entrance was a large area of village houses, each with its own agritainment restaurant. This is Shuibaozi Village, one of the designated Beijing rural folk tourism villages by the Beijing Tourism Bureau. There are more than fifty such villages in all of Beijing. To be continued, more pictures are stored in the space album... There was an open area by the roadside, so we stopped to take a look... Others like us were gazing at the reservoir scenery, including some elderly couples. While pointing and gesturing towards the reservoir, they recalled their youthful visits here, creating a very warm scene.
Wandering aimlessly can also take up a lot of time; before we knew it, it was almost eleven in the morning. After taking a brief look around the entrance of Shuibaozi Village, we decided to return to the hotel and then head back to the city. To experience the local countryside charm of Beijing, naturally one should stay in a farmhouse; we'll come again if there's a chance. We saw fruit farmers setting up stalls again... This time on a larger scale: a whole truckload of goods. Suddenly feeling that we hadn't bought enough fruit, we also wanted to buy some to leave in the car for our friend who lent us the car! So we stopped again to purchase more, this time buying walnuts, winter jujubes, and honey.
Our first simple experience of the outskirts of Beijing was just that much, though it was only a taste, our eyes and hearts were already full of harvests... Driving around the west side of Miyun Reservoir, we wandered casually. The Miyun Reservoir is now a key drinking water base for the capital, and all roads leading to the reservoir area are strictly guarded. The reservoir is vast; according to travel guides, there are many scenic spots around the reservoir such as Heilongtan, Taoyuanxiangu, the First Waterfall of Beijing, and Qingliang Valley, etc. We did not include these attractions in our itinerary this time, nor did we allocate enough time, so we just took a casual look...
On the dry riverbed, there was a railway bridge parallel to the highway bridge. Based on its location, it should be part of the Jingcheng (Beijing to Chengde) railway line.
In the morning in the hotel garden, I took a picture of a cluster of plants with bright and lustrous red beans hanging from their branches. I don't know what it's called, I'm very curious! If any of you friends know, please kindly enlighten me... I originally thought this was a Beijing specialty peach. After trying it, I found out it was actually a wild peach, which tastes crisp but not very sweet.
This gentleman had taken the best spot to sell fruits to passersby. He had red grapes, mountain peaches, and what he referred to as "Yanzhi Hong" which should be red plums. Looking at my thin jacket, his military overcoat seemed especially cumbersome. People in the mountains wake up early, and the temperature in the mountains is relatively low, no wonder.
Walking around the Miyun Reservoir area in autumn, the red leaves by the roadside were already in full bloom, growing layer upon layer, adding brilliant colors to the suburban roads of Beijing, and showcasing the myriad charms of autumn everywhere. The clusters of red leaves on the stone slopes resemble the azaleas of the Jiangnan mountain areas in early spring, bringing joy and delight.