David Ferguson unveils a burgeoning climbing scene with plenty to offer in Baihe Valley, Beijing Province, China.

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When Emperor Qin Shi Huang decided to build a wall to keep the ferocious Mongol hordes away from his new capital city Beijing, he elected, in his celestial wisdom, to build it with mud. His descendants (and the vanquishers of his descendants) saw the flaw in his design and upgraded to a beautiful, coarse-grained golden granite found in abundance in the mountains visible from the city. While the Great Wall of China now attracts hordes of a different kind, the granite cliffs have become the playground of northern China's emerging climbing community.

The climbing areas are concentrated in the Baihe (白河- literally White River) valley ninety minutes' drive north of downtown Beijing. Here, a slowly meandering brown flow has cut a deep valley and numerous tributaries through the steep granite mountains. Tentative efforts to attract tourists have left their sordid stains on the landscape but, so far, the area remains a calm and stunningly beautiful haven from the serious grey grind of Beijing.

Driving into Baihe, the potential for climbing quickly becomes apparent – there are crags everywhere. Closer inspection reveals that most of those walls are either smooth and featureless or crumbly and featureless. However, there is enough that's climbable to have attracted a decade of development and the occasional visit from travelling superstars (Steve McClure, John Dunne, Daniel Dulac...).

The result: a few hundred routes from 5.5 to 5.14; from three-bolt beginner routes to ten-pitch beasts; from crumbly garbage to bullet-hard gems. With such a menu on offer, the area has become increasingly popular and at weekends some areas can feel like Stanage on a bank holiday.

The landscape is stunning. The steep hills are a bright green in summer with the golden granite poking through. Small, gnarly trees cling to the outcrops which, combined with glimpses of the Great Wall, drive home the other-worldly ambience.

Jinglinggu is the centre of the area with a good concentration of routes across the grades in a pretty valley. The nearby village of Zhangjiafen offers cheap eats and good sleeping options. Further north, a few dozen crags can be found above or below the main road.

It's worth noting that climbing remains a new and rather unusual sport in China. As such, you will see certain differences compared to climbing in other parts of the world. For starters, access can sometimes be difficult to understand. New areas are always opening up, while existing areas get arbitrarily closed down by nervous local administrators.

WeChat message groups are a useful way to get an idea of the daily changes to crag access. Secondly, the crag scene is generally pretty noisy: you will see a lot of large groups of topropers hanging out, playing music and eating vast picnics.

Below are the main areas and some of their best routes.

Jinglinggu

The side valley of Jinglinggu hosts Baihe's greatest concentration of routes across half a dozen cliffs. After crossing a rickety suspension bridge (10RMB fee) and scrambling up the path rightwards, the first sector you reach is the second tier. It's popular with groups as it offers more than twenty very similar routes at amenable grades with great views. All are okay, but largely forgettable. On the far right-hand end 大S is a great climb up an attractive natural line.

Back on the valley floor, the cave hosts Jingliggu's hardest route, a 5.13d chimney and two stunning 5.12s 甘蔗 and 儿童节快乐Happy Children's Day. Continuing up the valley, you reach the Amphitheatre. There is enough here for a full day, but it can get extremely crowded. Climb here if you are lucky enough to arrive on a quiet day.

Natural beauty 天生丽质is good at 5.11a. Take a detour to do 月球漫步 / Moonwalk, a delightful, isolated 5.11b that follows a natural granite tufa. Where the valley forks, go right and you will reach the last sector, a steep wall featuring cracks, offwidths and the occasional clean face. 红太阳 is the route of the crag and no pushover at 5.12a.

There are other small sectors, as well as some good bouldering, scattered on buttresses all over the Jinglinggu valley. There are even a few trad lines. It's also a great place to come with kids, with lots of bugs, snakes and birds to discover and some nice swimming holes.

Secret Garden

The strangely named Secret Garden sits prominently and not-at-all secretly above the village, its impressive left-hand buttress looming steeply. The crag is accessed via a vigorous fifteen-minute hike up a trail starting behind Delai's guesthouse.

On the far left is the steepest buttress with in-situ draws normally hanging from an imposing looking project. This route was bolted by visiting French weapon Daniel Dulac back in 2013 and is still waiting for a first ascent

On the right-hand side is a lovely sector with a small, dense collection of high quality 11s and 12s. I Am Loving It and Come Home Late (both 5.11c) sit either side of the prominent corner and are the pick of the bunch.

From the right-hand end, a path leads up the hill to a final section with some worthwhile routes. An ascent of Trango Tower is mandatory while the bouldery The Mountain Is Calling and the trad-style Good Poem are both worthwhile.

Niubi / NB峡谷 New B Gorge

The most athletic of the Baihe crags, Niubi comprises an impressive sweep of clean granite underneath a small waterfall. It's best suited to those climbing mid-5.11 and above. Starting on the far left, the classic easier route of the crag is 酒醉的探戈 Drunk Tango at 5.11b and features a delightful thin headwall.

Further down, a bunch of low 5.12s provide steep pumpy fun. The real business takes place on the longest, cleanest part of the wall. 硬伤 5.13b/c features a stiff sloper section low down followed by a power endurance finish. 无名 5.12d is similar minus the early hard moves. Both are excellent. For the Brit abroad, there's a long trad expedition up the broken corner.

春天里 Chun Tian Li

This area is a steep scramble above the main road and offers a secluded spot with great views and good hammock options. The lower part is an easy-angled slab with grades to match. None of the routes are particularly special but they're all worth doing. The upper part is steep and a little snappy and a helmet is advised.

This area is developing fast and a number of new sectors are emerging from the undergrowth.

Gossip climbers

For something a little more adventurous, seek out Baihe's premier multipitch climbs. Logistically complicated, these routes require an early start, some pre-stashed water for the end of the day and a little luck with finding the starts of the routes. The reward is excellent climbing in a genuinely stunning location above the river. Gossip Climbers is a nine-pitch 5.10c that starts in the middle then gains an amazing quartzite protrusion that tracks across the wall to the left-hand side before a summit finish.

Perfect Feeling feels quite a lot harder at 5.11a.  Sadly, many of its nine pitches have chipped holds (the blank granite would be virtually unclimbable without), which does detract, but the overall experience is nevertheless 3-stars.

Logistics

Baihe is northern China's number one rock climbing area and, as such, a modest infrastructure has sprung up to support climbers. For overnight trips, Zhangjiafen villages has a number of cheap and cheerful hostels (around 100RMB per night) as well as places to eat and buy snacks and water. These places can also drop you at the more distant crags or even drive you back into the city.

Day trips from downtown Beijing are easily doable if you leave at 7am to beat the traffic. It's a 1.5 – 2 hour drive. A car (700RMB) or a van (1,000 RMB) with drivers are the most convenient transport option. The driver will wait for you and take you back to the city.

For the foreign climbers wishing to visit, the logistics are infinitely more complicated. During the Covid pandemic, the Chinese government put in place harsh entry requirements and even more harsh quarantine procedures. Check your government's latest travel advice (the UK government guidance is here).

Gear

The vast majority of routes are fully bolted. Few are especially long so a sixty metre rope and fourteen draws is enough. A helmet is advisable at some crags due to the crumbly, broken nature of some of the granite. A hammock is also a good investment.

Take lots of water, especially in summer. Water, snacks, cold beer and ice creams can all be found in the village.

When to go

Winter in Baihe is so appallingly cold that all the rivers freeze solid and it is simply too cold to climb on rock (though there are some ice climbing areas).

Conversely, the summer is unbearably hot. This leaves two climbing windows, from late February to May, then September to November. These periods are delightful and, with Beijing's famously dry air, conditions on Baihe's granite slopers can be excellent. As always, keep an eye on the air pollution, which can leave you with a sore throat even within Baihe's green folds.