Capital chill

Folk customs. Hot springs. Traditional medicine. Winter sports, shopping and the Olympic spirit－these are all elements of the 30 winter-travel routes Beijing has developed to lure visitors to hot spots in the cold season.

The city has also organized over 200 winter-sports events, and about 300 art performances that take the season as their themes will be staged in theaters throughout the capital.

China Daily takes a look at what these routes offer.

Olympics

Beijing and Hebei province's Zhangjiakou will host the 2022 Winter Olympics. The capital's Badaling Ski Resort will be one of the competition sites, where visitors can enjoy European-style skiing experiences, sleigh rides, bungee jumping and ice sculptures. Guests can thaw out in hot springs.

Travelers can then head to Zhangjiakou's Chongli county to visit other venues for the Games.

They can also hit the slopes at the 30-square-kilometer Wanlong Ski Resort, which hosts perpendicular throws of up to 550 meters.

Great Wall

Visiting the Great Wall in the off-season provides a chance to beat the heat and the crowds. Also, the bulwark takes on a different feel in the colder months.

The Simatai section, in particular, offers a variety of views since it's constructed in various styles.

Simatai's wall spans the mountaintops near Beijing Wtown, a water-town resort constructed in traditional style with flagstone streets and brick buildings. It organizes special winter activities that incorporate folk customs and hot springs.

National Stadium

The major Olympic venue has evolved into a winter wonderland over the years, with carnivals that attract over 1.6 million visitors during the season. Families can enjoy skiing, and artificial snow and ice. The National Swimming Center and the National Convention Center will also host winter events.

Lunar New Year

Ditan Park's temple fair is one of Beijing's most popular holiday events. It's attended by over 1 million people a year. Visitors can enjoy traditional food, crafts and performances around Spring Festival.

They can warm up over Beijing-style hotpot at Donglaishun. Copper cauldrons boil with fresh mutton slices at the eatery, which is more than a century old.

Or they can melt away the cold and their cares at the Nangong Resort's hot springs. The destination also features swimming and massage pools, a water park for kids and saunas.

Wine and dine

The Shichahai area hosts old-fashioned Beijing culture and style－including traditional food.

Visitors can ride tricycle carts through the hutong (traditional alleyways) or skate on the area's frozen lake before sampling such local delicacies as meat-sauce noodles and candied haws.

Or they can dine at Quanjude, one of the most celebrated Peking duck restaurants, which opened in 1864.

The area is also near the famous food street, Guijie, which hosts over 100 eateries.

"Scorpion" hotpot－so called because it's made using lamb spines, which resemble said arachnid－is particularly popular in winter.

Suburban districts also offer seasonal delicacies, such as tofu in Yanqing, roast lamb in Pinggu and fish in Huairou.

Health

The 8,000-hectare Mangshan National Forest Park on the east side of the Ming Tombs Reservoir in Changping district hosts Beijing's biggest mountains.

It's an hour from Yinshan Pagoda Forest, which features precipices said to resemble forged iron, including three particularly iconic peaks. It offers hot spring experiences in wooden barrels and traditional Chinese medicine baths, plus swimming pools and a kids' water park.

Xiaotangshan Modern Agricultural Science Demonstration Park offers rural tourism and educational activities. Visitors can pick fresh fruit and vegetables－even outside the normal harvest periods, making a winter visit a truly unique outing.

Then again, it's just one of many special experiences Beijing offers in winter.