Experience A Real Autumn

One thing I was excited about experiencing here in China was the seasons (summer, fall, and winter, unfortunately, I missed spring). You don't really experience seasons in California except summer and maybe fall (except all the leaves never change color). Anyways, I made it a point to see the beautiful autumn leaves here in Beijing and after researching a few sites, I decided on going to Fragrant Hill (香山) during the Red Leaves Festival.

Directions to Fragrant Hill: Take Subway Line 4 to Beigongmen, Exit A. Then you can take Bus 331 or 696 and get off at Xiangshan (香山). Once you get off, follow all the people, up the street past all the snack vendors and souvenir shops and after about a 5-10 min walk, you will reach the entrance to the park.

Though the Red Leaves Festival started about a week ago, the maple leaves were more yellow than red. But nevertheless, wandering around, going off the beaten path looking at all the trees and taking in the scenery was absolutely fantastic. There are tons of small paths for the adventurous photographers up on the mountains and it would've been nice to check out had I brought appropriate shoes. I'm happy I got a chance to see the fall leaves, it was definitely on my To-Do list and I think being from California and never seeing scenery like that, allowed me to fully appreciate it so the trip was worth it.

Tip: Finding the bus back to the subway station is a bit tricky, but Bus 331 and 696 was in Parking Lot 5 I believe. It's extremely crowded so I suggest leaving around 2 or 3 and expect to wait around 20-30 min for a bus.

Unknown girl, thought the picture was nice though

\

"Catching Falling Stars" Thought the leaves looked like stars and wanted to capture it, w/ a bit of freehand & playing around, I think I did! Hands down, favorite of the day.