**Nanshiyang Grand Canyon Scenic Area Overview**
Nanshiyang Grand Canyon Scenic Area is nestled on the edge of the Western Hills of Beijing, tracing the Yongding River, at the foot of the Great Wall, and within the northern part of Mentougou District, specifically within the boundaries of Yanchi Town. This expansive natural wonder stretches over 20 kilometers in length and covers an area of approximately 40 square kilometers. The area is distinctively divided into ‘one gorge with nine valleys, eighteen bays, and seventy-two nodes’, including the Mortal World Valley, Changchun Valley, Carefree Valley, Yanxiang Valley, Hundred Forests Valley, Carefree Valley, Love Affair Valley, Qixia Valley, and Morning Glow Valley. It serves as a popular destination for landscape photography, scientific research, biological collection, red education, and mountain hiking.
**Geological Landforms**
Nanshiyang Grand Canyon, a branch of the Yanhecheng Great Fault, is a testament to the geological history dating back hundreds of millions of years. Dolomite and limestone were once deposited in the ocean, and through the Yanshan and Himalayan orogenies, the crust rose, the waters receded, and the rocks emerged. The interplay of cold and warm weather, along with the erosive forces of wind and rain, have sculpted geological marvels such as the Sky-Piercing Crack, Ladder Root, Black Dragon Pool, Cover Not Strict, Stone Suspended Coffin, Luodaitian, Single Door Tower, and Water Ripples. The canyon features winding paths leading to secluded areas and steep, majestic peaks. Prominent peaks within the scenic area include Bijia Mountain, Qipan Mountain, Tianci Mountain, Tianzuo Mountain, Tianyou Mountain, Yujiao Peak, and Flame Mountain, with Tianzuo Mountain, Tianyou Mountain, and Tianci Mountain reaching elevations of about 1400-1500 meters, and Yujiao Peak soaring to 1580 meters. The canyons, strange peaks, and cliffs form a geological landscape that is both majestic and secluded.
**Ecological Environment**
Despite its rugged and stony terrain, Nanshiyang Grand Canyon is a haven for a diverse range of flora and fauna, including many rare species. Economic plants such as century-old wild kiwi, perennial plants like Asarum, Arisaema, Atractylodes, Artemisia, wild lilac, yellow ginseng, Polygala, Saposhnikovia, Astragalus, and Lithospermum thrive here. Gentler slopes are home to mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, and wildlife such as mountain hares and grass snakes can be found throughout the area.
**Historical Relics**
Historically, Nanshiyang and Bei Shiyang Gully were known as Nanxiyang Gully and Beixiyang Gully. The scenic area is rich in historical and cultural heritage, featuring sections of the Great Wall, including the Northern Qi Great Wall and the Ming Dynasty Inner Great Wall Juyongguan system’s Nan and Bei Shiyangkou. Other historical sites include Changyukou, Changyuxi Kou, Fangliangkou, and a model Great Wall round city in the north of the scenic area. A combing platform from the Liao Dynasty and the nearby Phoenix Turning Back are also notable. Ancient roads such as the Xixiao Ancient Road, Forty-Five Ridge Ancient Road, Datun Ancient Road, and Nanshiyang Gully itself are remnants of past trade and travel routes. Legends and stories are intertwined with places like Luzishui Niangniang Temple, Sanqing Hall, Sanguan Hall, Xiuzhen Cave at the ancient Great Wall, Desheng Temple in Dacun, Mountain God Temple in Shanshen Temple Village, Longwang Temple in Fangliang Village, and Xiangyangkou Da Beiyan Guanyin Temple (Cover Not Strict).
During the Anti-Japanese War, Tizi Head served as the office location of the Changwanhuai United County Office. In the ‘Beiping-Tianjin Campaign’ of the Liberation War, deserters from the 104th Army were intercepted and captured by local militias. The valley also contains the former anti-Japanese sites of Jiao Ruoyu, the former Mayor of Beijing and former County Chief of Wanping County.
**Visiting Information**
The park is open from October 16th to March 20th from 09:00 to 17:00, and on New Year’s Day, Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Labor Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day from 08:30 to 18:00.
**Preferential Policies**
– Children under 1.2 meters (not including) must be accompanied by a healthy guardian who needs to purchase a ticket, and the entrance ticket is free.
– Children between 1.2 meters (**Service facilities**:
**Parking lot**: Nan Shiyang Grand Canyon Parking Lot No. 1.
Reference price: small car 10 yuan per time; large car 20 yuan per time.
Address: 300 meters north of Matou Village, Yanchi Town, Mentougou District, Beijing. There are 273 parking spaces.
**Essential tips**:
1. Please pay attention to personal and property safety. Keep personal items well and take care of the elderly and children. In bad weather such as rain, snow, and sandstorms, pay attention to windproofing, anti-slip, lightning avoidance, and follow the guidance of tour guides or staff.
2. Tourist vehicles must be parked in the parking lot and take necessary anti-theft measures.
3. Sightseeing buses in the scenic area require queuing. When there are many tourists, there may be longer queuing times. Visitors are requested to understand, obey the command of on-site staff, line up consciously, and respect each other.
4. This scenic area is part of the National Forest Park. Open-air fires and smoking are prohibited within the park. Camping overnight is also prohibited.
5. When visiting and taking photos, tourists are not allowed to break trees or flowers. If tourists damage the greenery in the park, the scenic area has the right to demand compensation.
6. Please follow the constructed trails in the scenic area. The scenic area is not responsible for personal harm caused by visiting unopened or unconstructed trail areas.
7. The following behaviors are prohibited in the scenic area: entering the park with dangerous goods, selling or displaying items, distributing leaflets, holding meetings and speeches, fighting, commercial photography and videography, and all other behaviors that hinder the operation of the scenic area and its related facilities.
8. The park is not responsible for accidents caused by tourists violating safety regulations or due to their own negligence or fault.
9. Purchasing a ticket is considered as an acceptance of the content of the ‘Visitor Information’ and ‘Ticket Purchase Information’. For inquiries, please consult our staff.
10. It is prohibited to bring large and aggressive dogs into the park. Dogs must be leashed and their owners must be mindful to avoid pedestrians and clean up after their pets. Abandoning dogs in the park is strictly forbidden, and dog owners are fully responsible for any incidents of dog bites. Note: Dogs with a shoulder height (distance from the top of the scapula to the ground) exceeding 60 cm or a weight over 30 kilograms are considered large dogs.
