On October 20, 2013, news reported that climbing trees, taking wild paths, random graffiti, and trampling on lawns—some tourists’ uncivilized behavior yesterday “hurt” the Xiangshan Red Leaf Festival. The park believes these actions not only damage the landscape and vegetation but also bring inconvenience and danger to visitors themselves, and calls on everyone to protect the environment and visit the park civilly.
Wild paths in the park frequently see people
Yesterday afternoon, reporters observed that, drawn by the “Red Leaf Festival,” all the mountain-climbing routes up Xiangshan were packed with visitors. To avoid the crowds and save time, some unofficial mountain paths started to gain favor among tourists.
“Go this way, this way—it’s more exciting.” When a group of young people reached the mountainside, a “shortcut” became their new route of choice. The so-called shortcut was actually an earthen path leading straight up, located right beside the official trail.
Without hesitation, several youths quickly scrambled up the dirt slope, ascending rapidly. Behind them, the main hiking route was moving along at a much slower pace.
However, although these wild paths save time, they are not easy to climb. With slopes nearing 70 degrees and few stable footholds, the group had to move with extreme caution.
Seeing how taking wild paths improved “efficiency,” many other tourists followed suit. They abandoned the stairs and opted instead to charge straight up the steep earthen paths, including parents with children.
Inspired, they graffiti or take photos by cliffs
While ascending, the reporters passed through an ancient stone gate and spotted the familiar phrase “So-and-so was here” on the inner wall of the archway. In another tunnel where visitors queue to pass, a full-blown “graffiti wall” had formed, with some inscriptions dated just days earlier.
Near the top of Xianglu Peak, a rock juts out precariously from the mountainside, but for safety reasons, the park has fenced it off from the walking path. Still, tempted by the dramatic view, some visitors risked falling off the cliff by climbing over the railing.
They stood together on the three-sided exposed rock, shivering in the mountain wind. One woman, directed by her boyfriend, adjusted her photo pose while facing the cliff edge, constantly at risk of slipping. Another girl nervously glanced backward, then crouched in place too scared to move.
Park sanitation workers patrolling the area repeatedly urged the tourists to return to safer ground. But they seemed too engrossed in the thrill, lingering near the cliff edge for a long time before finally going back inside the railing. The sanitation worker remarked that while he knew the terrain well, he still had to wear a safety rope when working in such areas.
Heavy burden on large trees from people climbing them
When the reporters reached Xianglu Peak, they saw thousands of red prayer ribbons hanging from several large trees, fluttering in the wind. This is a blessing activity provided by the park, where visitors buy a red ribbon and tie it to a tree to express their wishes.
Most visitors praying tied their ribbons to low-hanging branches they could easily reach. But some “braved the risk,” including one girl who climbed the tree to tie her ribbon onto a high branch, then jumped down. Park staff reminded everyone not to climb trees while tying ribbons—stay safe while making wishes.
On the way to Xianglu Peak, a thick horizontal tree branch caught the eye, extending from a large tree by the path. The branch was about 40 centimeters in diameter and around two meters above the ground. It may have been injured, as it was wrapped with layers of straw ropes. A man climbed up from a low roadside wall, straddled the branch, then turned and waved for his girlfriend below to take a photo. He then leaped from the two-meter-high branch, drawing gasps from the crowd.
Similar incidents continued this morning.
Unwilling to wait, cutting in line for cable cars
Around 5 p.m. yesterday, reporters arrived at the Xianglu Peak cable car station, preparing to queue for a ride down the mountain. Due to the long lines, park staff set up barriers outside the ticket booth. With the late hour, many visitors were eager to descend, resulting in slow-moving queues.
Most tourists waited patiently in line, but some, seeing the long, slow-moving queue, couldn’t resist trying to cut in. Reporters saw one young man climb over a meter-high barrier and brazenly squeeze into the line.
Then a woman walked up to the barrier, looked around to make sure no park staff were watching, placed her right foot on the barrier, pushed off with her left hand, and vaulted over. In one leap, she cut nearly 20 minutes off her wait by reaching the ticket window ahead of others.
Park calls for protecting environment and visiting civilly
A park official noted in the morning that since the Red Leaf Festival began, most visitors had behaved civilly, but some still engaged in uncivilized acts that could damage the scenery or endanger their own safety.
To protect the park’s ecological environment, the management has used low walls, fences, and barriers to separate wild paths, lawns, and trees. Visitors are encouraged to stick to official trails while enjoying the red leaves, and to avoid “crossing boundaries.” While admiring nature, please also give it space to thrive.
Protecting the Red Leaf Festival
As one of the few natural attractions in Beijing, Xiangshan’s red leaf viewing has long been an annual tradition for many locals, but various thoughtless behaviors have also persisted.
Actually, not just the media—but every one of us who enjoys the beauty of Xiangshan’s red leaves—should give something back to the festival. We hope everyone will take out their phones or cameras and expose those uncivilized actions.