One day after visiting Yaji Mountain, I went with coworkers to Ancient Gubei Water Town. I had seen some pictures of this online before I even arrived in China and was very excited to visit. Completely man made, this ancient village was modeled after other canal towns in China, though Gubei appears to be the only canal town in northern China. Gubei first opened in 2014 and was designed to look like ancient villages that would have been found throughout China.
After a short walk from the bus, we found the main gate to the town where the tickets can be purchased. We traveled with one of the tour companies that runs trips within Beijing and it’s definitely one of the best ways to get around and see different spots around the area. Beijing is far too expansive to visit some of these places on your own. Gubei Water Town was about 2 hours by bus from the middle of Beijing.
As soon as we entered the gates and started our journey through the town, I instantly felt transported back in time. Though this town is not as old as it looks, it definitely feels historical. They did a great job with the construction of this town.
At the top of the hill that you can see behind this building is a hilltop church. I went up a little bit, but I didn’t take the stairs to the top of the mountain to see the church. I’m sure it had an incredible view of the town.
We visited during February and the Chinese were deep into celebrations for the Chinese New Year holiday. I assume these lanterns were up as holiday decorations, and they added a fun bit of flair to the town.
This theater was stunning and was the anchor in the middle of the piazza area in the town. As soon as you entered this part of town, the theater was the first thing you notice. Later in this post, you’ll see the show that I happened to stumble upon that took place in front of this theater.
In the short time I’ve been in China, I’ve become fascinated with their architecture. The pagoda style buildings are amazing to look at. The details are incredible. The roofs, the tiling, the colors…absolutely stunning!
Here’s some more shots of the Wall from the safety of the ground. This section of the Wall is called Simitai and it was built during the Northern Qi dynasty, which was between 550 and 577. It was rebuilt during the Ming dynasty. This portion of the wall is 5.4 km long and has 35 beacon towers along the way. This section is known to be a very steep portion of the Wall and you can get to the top via a cable car.
The mountains holding up the Simitai section of the Great Wall are the Yan, or Yanshan, Mountains. This mountain range is a large set of mountains in Northern China that reaches down into Beijing and up to the Hebei Province.
One of the parts of Gubei Water Town that made it feel more modern is the “amusement park” aspect. We went in February and it was extremely cold the day we were there. The water throughout the water town was frozen over, and they had lots of fun activities for everyone to participate in. One could play games, skate, ride bumper cars or use the sled chairs to get around, among other ice activities. Everyone looked to be having a great time.
As the avid reader that I am, I loved this statue that I stumbled which resembled a man sitting on the steps reading. I couldn’t find any information on this statue, so I don’t know if there’s any special meaning to it, but I would have loved to sit down and read a book with the statue!
2022 is the Year of the Tiger, so it’s no surprise that they would have a big tiger on display in the middle of the town!
Depending on where you stood, the tiger almost looked like he was guarding the Wall!
While the others I was with were on the Wall, I had a chance to watch a show with the Chinese Dragons. It drew quite a crowd and it was hard to take photos. I was a few rows back so I had to hold my camera above my head and hope for the best!
Chinese Dragon dances are traditional dances that are said to bring luck and prosperity. Commonly seen through the Chinese New Year Holiday, this was a fun treat to experience. This show was performed in front of the theater from earlier in this post.
