Top Spots to Pitch your Picnic

Take a break from the city this month. With the mercury climbing to the comfort level, there's nothing stopping you taking a full day to explore some of the many beautiful attractions literally a stone's throw from Beijing. Pick a day, pack a hamper, and hit the road.

The Great Wall

Always an unforgettable location for a picnic lunch - if you can find a quiet spot, that is! If you stop on the wall itself, the risk of dozens of tourists trampling across your spread is very high unless you're up early enough to hike away from the crowds. Otherwise, best to pick a spot in the shadow of this remarkable monument to Chinese ingenuity.

The "Wild Wall" sections offer the most memorable backdrops, though hiking them can be a hair-raising experience. Huanghua and Simatai are the most accessible, the latter considerably steeper and more challenging. Of the restored sections of "Tourist Wall", Jinshanling is easily the most attractive - a good day's hike will take you all the way to Simatai.

Silver Mountain

Well off the beaten track, this spot's stand-out attraction is a unique forest of ruined Yuan Dynasty pagodas. The extra effort in finding and reaching this area is made more than worthwhile if your goal is a peaceful picnic in a stunning setting.

Rainbow Trout Valley

A chance to leave the cooking to others at any number of the small trout farms that line this lovely valley north of Huairou. Just cast a line, pull out a trout, and hand it over - barbecued, steamed, however you like it...it's a bargain at around 20 yuan per pound.

A crumbling stretch of the Great Wall also cuts across this valley, and intrepid hikers can find some magnificent - albeit dangerous and not recommended - sections to explore.

Botanical Gardens

A cold picnic is a must if you choose these gardens, as lighting fires is a strict no-no in the open grounds. But the comfy expanses of grass and colorful flowerbeds form a picture-perfect picnic setting, highlighted by the dramatic backdrop of Xiangshan and the Western Hills.

Open: 8am-4pm

Buses 333 or 360 from the Summer Palace to Wo Fo Si (Sleeping Buddha Temple), then walk North.

Admission: 5 yuan for the garden; 50 yuan for the palm house.

Open: 6am-7pm.

Where to Get Your Goodies

Basics such as paper plates and plastic cutlery can be had at most Chinese supermarkets; if you're looking for a European-style picnic of cold meats and cheeses, only the upmarket retailers will serve you right. Jenny Lou's just south of Chaoyang Park's west gate has a selection to match any of the bigger retailers, the best of which are in the basements of the Lufthansa Center and the Pacific Century Plaza (next to the Zhaolong Hotel, just West of Changhong Qiao on Gongti Beilu). The CRC shop in the basement of the China World Shopping Mall is also a decent place to stock up.