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Like the Summer Palace, the Western Hills , 20km west of the city, are a place to escape urban life for a while, though more of a rugged experience. Because of its relative coolness at the height of summer, the area has been long favoured as a restful retreat by religious men and intellectuals, as well as politicians in this century - Mao lived here briefly, and the Politburo retreated here in 1989. West of the Summer Palace, it takes about an hour to get here by public transport from the city. The hills are divided into three parks, the closest of which is the Botanical Gardens, directly west of the Summer Palace. Two kilometres farther west, Xiangshan is the largest and most impressive park, but Badachu, south of here, a collection of temples strung out along a hillside, is just as pretty. A day gives you ample time to explore each of the three areas, if your legs are willing. The Botanical Gardens (daily 8am-5pm; Y1) are accessible by bus #333 from the Summer Palace. Two thousand varieties of trees and plants are arranged in formal gardens which are pretty in the summer, though the terrain is flat and the landscaping is not as original as in the older parks. The main path leads after 1km to the Wofo Si (daily 8am-4.30pm; Y1), whose main hall houses a huge reclining Buddha, more than 5m in length and cast in copper. With two giant feet protruding from the end of his painted robe, and a pudgy, baby face, calm in repose, he looks rather cute, although he is not actually sleeping but dying, about to enter nirvana. Huge shoes, presented as offerings, are on display around the hall. Behind the temple is a bamboo garden, from which paths wind off into the hills. One heads northwest to a pretty cherry valley, just under 1km away, where Cao Xueqiao is supposed to have written The Dream of Red Mansions. Deservedly the most popular is Xiangshan Park (daily 7am-6pm; Y2), whose main, eastern entrance is 2km west of the Botanical Gardens, also on the route of bus #333. The park is a carefully landscaped range dominated by Incense Burner Peak in the western corner. It's at its best in the autumn (before the sharp November frosts), when the leaves turn red in a massive profusion of colour. At weekends the park is busy, but it's too big to be swamped and it's always a good place for a hike and a picnic. Close to the main entrance, the Xiangshan Hotel (tel 62591166; Y300-500), one of the city's most innovative buildings, comes as an unexpected sight. Designed by Bei Yuming, who also designed the pyramid at the Louvre in Paris, the light and airy building is somewhere between a temple and an airport lounge, and a great location to escape the smoke for a weekend. Northeast from here, the Zhao Miao (Temple of Brilliance), one of the few temples in the area that escaped vandalism by Western troops in 1860 and 1900, was built by Qianlong in 1780 in Tibetan style, designed to make visiting Lamas feel at home. From here, follow the path west up to the Peak (1hr) from where, on clear days, there are magnificent views down towards the Summer Palace and as far as distant Beijing. You can hire a horse to take you down again for Y20, the same price as the cable car (Y20). Both drop you on the northern side of the hill, by the north entrance, a short walk from the superb Biyun Si (Azure Clouds Temple), just outside the park gate. A striking building, it's dominated by a north Indian-style dagoba and topped by extraordinary conical stupas. Inside, rather bizarrely, a tomb holds the hat and clothes of Sun Yatsen - his body was held here for a while before being moved in 1924. The giant main hall is now a maze of corridors lined with arhats, five hundred in all, and it's a magical place. The benignly smiling golden figures are all different - some have two heads or sit on animals, one is even pulling his face off - and you may see monks moving among them and bowing to each. Badachu , or the Eight Great Sights (daily 8am-5pm; Y2), is a forested hill 10km south of Xiangshan Park and accessible on bus #347 from the zoo. Along the path that snakes around the hill are eight temples , fairly small affairs, but quite attractive on weekdays, when they're not busy. The new pagoda at the base of the path holds a Buddha tooth, which once sat in the second temple. The third, a nunnery, is the most pleasant, with a tea house in the courtyard. There's a statue of the rarely depicted thunder deity inside, boggle-eyed and grimacing. As well as the inevitable cable car, it's also possible to slide down the hill on a metal track.
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