On this week's show, I talked with Paddy Robertson about our two-day bicycle trip from Beijing to the Iron Wall Silver Mountain, AKA the Silver Mountain Pagoda Forest. This is officially recognized by the national government as a AAAA scenic spot, and it was one of the 28 designated tourist destinations during the 2008 Olympics. It's a sacred site of Buddhism, originally built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The current incarnation was built during the Liao Dynasty (907-1125).

Officially, the Silver Pagodas have been closed since 2014, but, as you'll hear during the show, Paddy and I found it easy to get into the park anyway. With that in mind, let's listen to the podcast:

Download this Episode (right-click and choose “save as”)

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Show Notes:

• More info about the Silver Mountain Pagoda Forest.

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Here are some photos from our trip to the Silver Pagodas:

The Yinshan Pagoda Forest scenic spot should be temporarily closed and rehabilitated for some reason.

This is what the scenery just outside of Beijing looks like.

Trains to and from Beijing. Coal goes in, empty cars come out.

More Beijing mountain scenery.

An old man in Gateway to the Lake Village tends to his garden.

Sunset over Gateway to the Lake Village.

Me and Paddy at the hilltop pagoda.

Wispy clouds at sunset.

The main pavilion at the Iron Wall Silver Mountain.

Another view of the main pavilion.

One of the bells at the pavilion halfway up the mountain.

Looking back toward Beijing, with the smog coming in.

A woman walked in with her pet dog in Datong and Frankie just had to get a picture with it.

Click for more photos from the pagoda forest.