[2025 Harqin Banner Attraction] Travel Guide for Meiling National Forest Park (Updated May)

📍 Meilin Valley in Chifeng, located 300 kilometers from Beijing, is a hidden gem perfect for weekend road trips, camping, and hiking⛰️. Known for its alpine meadows and dense forests, Meilin Valley transforms into a ski paradise in winter⛷, and a cool summer retreat with grazing cattle and blooming flowers in the warmer months. The best part? It's not overdeveloped! Enjoy the tranquility with minimal crowds and traffic, surrounded by lush greenery and… cows, cows, cows🐄🐄! We took the loop trail, a 5-kilometer trek filled with picturesque scenery and countless photo opportunities with the friendly local cows📸! 📍 Don't miss the Konning Temple, just 7 kilometers from Meilin Valley. Dating back to the Yuan Dynasty, this Tibetan Buddhist temple boasts a magnificent main hall adorned with vibrant prayer flags, creating a stunning backdrop for photos. Encircled by mountains, meadows, streams, and grazing livestock, the temple exudes a mystical charm. A moment of quiet contemplation here can truly wash away all your worries and fatigue!

I have heard about Kangning Temple for a long time, but I have never been there. It was also a coincidence that I passed by when I was photographing veterans in the city in 2022. I took a few photos in a hurry and said goodbye in a hurry. Two years have passed in a flash. I have always wanted to go, but I have never been able to go. One day in October this year, I went to Meilin and passed by Kangning Temple. I felt very friendly when I saw it, but after noon, I didn’t go. After seven or eight days, I went to Meilin, secretly determined to visit the temple! Kangning Temple was built in the early Yuan Dynasty (1260-1271) and has a history of more than 700 years. It is an important temple of the Sakya Sect of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia during the Yuan Dynasty. The original name of Kangning Temple is "Harihetun Temple", which means "Palace of Mahakala" in Mongolian and Gulna in Tibetan, which is the Black Tent Temple. Kangning Temple was originally a palace for the guardian of the army, which moved with the pastures in the four seasons. It was located in Jinshan Town, Haraqin Banner, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, and later moved to Meilin Valley. It covers an area of ​​more than 100 acres, and the building area is 5,000 square meters opposite Kangning Temple. Emperor Kangxi missed his beloved daughter Princess Duanjing who was married to the prince of Karaqin Banner after the Manchu-Mongolia marriage (1692-1698). When he came to visit, he saw the quiet and solemn "Harihetun Temple" and the auspicious clouds in the sky. Longyan Dayue took the two characters of the temple's "Jingjing" and "Duanjing" princesses together to form "Ning", and added her own character "Kang" as the first word, so she named it "Kangning Temple", which means: "Bless our people, May we live in peace, happiness, longevity, and peace, and will never have wars or disasters.”

Here is a Meiling Valley guide: Transportation Guide: Self-driving: From Beijing, take the Beijing-Chengde Expressway, continue towards Chifeng after passing the Anziling Service Area, pass the Maojingba Toll Station, exit at the Wangyedian Meiling exit, turn left at the first intersection after exiting the expressway, drive about 10 km along the asphalt road, and turn left after seeing the Meiling Valley Ski Resort sign, then drive 2 km to reach the destination. From Chifeng City, take the Chifeng-Maojingba First-Class Highway directly to the scenic area. Public transportation: First, take a bus to Jinshan Town in Chifeng, about 1.5 hours, then transfer to Meiling Town, and then take a chartered car to the scenic area. Best time to visit: Meiling Valley is suitable for visiting all year round. Spring: Everything comes back to life, the vegetation in the valley begins to rejuvenate, the mountains are covered with tender green, the scenery is fresh and pleasant, suitable for spring outings and walks, and feel the vitality of nature. Summer: The climate is cool, making it a great place to escape the heat. The average temperature is only about 20°C, and the lush forests and grasslands provide plenty of oxygen. You can walk or ride in the valley and enjoy the coolness and tranquility. Autumn: The most beautiful season in Meiling Valley, the leaves become colorful, the golden birch forest, fiery red maple leaves, and green pines and cypresses intertwine to form a beautiful picture, a paradise for photography enthusiasts. Winter: Meiling Valley Ski Resort is open, with high-quality ski slopes and complete ski facilities, a paradise for ski enthusiasts. Recommended attractions: Kangning Temple: Built during the reign of Kublai Khan in the Yuan Dynasty, it is one of the Tibetan Buddhist temples in the Karaqin Banner. The temple is built by the mountain and water, with a grand scale and unique architectural style, appearing harmonious and solemn against the blue sky. Here you can feel the solemnity and tranquility of Buddhist culture and hear the sound of chanting. Maliandao: There is a large birch forest, one of the must-visit attractions in Meiling Valley. Play along the mountain road, pass through the birch forest, and see the colorful trees in the mountains, beautiful scenery, and great for photography. Xiaomeiling: There is a large grassland, with colorful mountains and trees, green grass, and babbling streams, a great place for camping. Dripping Water Pot: Hanging on the stone cliff wall on one side of Aobao Liang in Meiling Township, about 30 meters high. Formed by rainwater seeping and accumulating in the mountain belly, dripping continuously throughout the year. In summer, when the water is abundant, it forms a small waterfall, pouring down from the top of the cliff, very spectacular; in winter, it forms ice hanging several feet long, unique. Ski Resort (Winter): Meiling Valley Ski Resort is one of the largest ski resorts in Asia, with long and varied ski slopes and high forest coverage. Whether you are a beginner or a professional skier, you can find suitable ski slopes here and enjoy the fun of skiing. Recommended food: Dui Jia: A traditional snack in Chifeng, with a crispy outer skin and smoked meat inside, crispy and delicious. Aohan Bo Mian: The noodles are chewy, the sauce is rich, and the taste is smooth. Mongolian Cold Noodles: Made from starch, with a smooth texture, served with chili oil, vinegar, and other seasonings, sour and spicy, appetizing. Roast Whole Lamb: A local specialty, with crispy skin and tender meat, rich aroma. Accommodation options: Meiling Valley Four Seasons Mountain Hotel: Located in Meiling Valley Comprehensive Tourist Resort, convenient transportation. The hotel is mainly Tibetan-style, introducing the internationally advanced SKI-IN/OUT design concept, allowing skiers to ski in and out directly from the hotel. Farmhouse: Experience local customs and taste farmhouse dishes, such as Chifeng Meiling Valley Erzi Whole Lamb Banquet Farmhouse, where you can eat freshly slaughtered and roasted whole lamb, roasted lamb chops, and other specialties. Homestay: Some characteristic homestays are available, with a warm environment, and some homestays also provide charging piles and other convenient facilities. Travel tips: If time permits, you can choose to drive or ride around the valley and enjoy the scenery along the way. Visitors who like hiking can walk along the greenway in Meiling Valley, a greenway about 26 km long connecting multiple attractions, allowing you to fully experience the charm of nature. Bring a camera to capture the beautiful scenery of Meiling Valley, especially the colorful autumn and snowy winter. During the tour, pay attention to environmental protection and do not litter.

Avoid the crowds during the National Day holiday and head north from Beijing to less crowded places. Overall self-driving plan: Beijing - Guyuan Grassland Sky Road - Duolun Lake (overnight) - Re Shuitang (overnight) - Re A Line - Highway 99 - Balin Right Banner (overnight) - Hohhot - Chifeng City (overnight) - Meilingu - Chengde (overnight) - Beijing. The last stop of the self-driving tour is Meilingu. Meilingu is located in Chifeng Karaqin Banner. As the name suggests, it is indeed very beautiful, with various landforms, and there is also a Kangning Temple built in the Yuan Dynasty more than 700 years ago. It is a secret place very close to Beijing. The entire Meilingu scenic area currently has no traces of commercialization and no management intervention, which also means that with the increase in popularity, public health and environmental problems are becoming increasingly prominent. It must be said that this place is very suitable for camping along the scenic greenway. There are many suitable camping spots. Many cars and crowds are setting up tents for camping. But there are a few places where you can drive in and see garbage everywhere, and there are a few traces of open flames. It can be foreseen that if there is no operation by the management, it may not last long. I hope that friends who come here to camp can protect this secret place.

From Wudan to Danxi Expressway, the journey is still smooth, and then to Chifeng, turn to Daguang Expressway. The traffic flow of Daguang Expressway is obviously larger than that of Danxi Expressway, but it is also very smooth. The whole journey is nearly 200 kilometers. From Meilin, get off the expressway and follow the navigation guide to Meilin. Lingu Scenic Area ended up leading to Kangning Temple. I had been there before when I first traveled north in 2019, so I won’t introduce it much. The weather is fine today. In the morning, the sun shines down softly in the mountains. The temple against the backdrop of green trees becomes even more majestic. I walked up the stairs and walked into Kangning Temple. I happened to catch up with the monks doing their morning prayers and accompanied them by chanting. Singing Sanskrit music, we set off and continued walking, but as we walked further we found that the scenery was different from the Meilin Valley we had been to before. With doubts, we walked into a supermarket in the village passing by and described to the shop owner what we had been there. Regarding the scenery we had visited, the eldest sister said that the place we had been to before should be Xiaomeilin, but we were now in Meilin, and told us that if we walk along this road, there will be good scenery ahead, including grasslands and mountains. And along this road, we will pass through Xiaomeilin and finally return to the highway intersection where we came from. What a little news! Continuing along the Wangxian Line, the scenery on the roadside becomes more and more beautiful, with more and more colors, green, yellow, red, brown...the leaves of the white birch are golden. The light is particularly dazzling. The early red maple leaves are as bright as mountain flowers in the yellow or green trees. The cattle and sheep at the foot of the mountain are grazing leisurely. A small stream is flowing through, and the woods are becoming more and more lively. . An open grassland in the valley has become a natural camping ground. Many tourists have pitched tents and camped in RVs. Birch forests and coniferous forests are growing in the middle of the mountain. The autumn scenery is beautiful, like an oil painting. We also stopped. In the car, I walked halfway up the mountain, breathing the mountain air, taking photos of the beautiful scenery in the mountain, and picking five small pink and purple dianthus to tie into a small bouquet... Keep going, the navigation prompts that there are still 500 meters to go. When we arrived at Xiaomeilin, the road was artificially blocked by several roadblocks, which diverted incoming vehicles into the Meilin Immigration New Village, which has farmhouses as its main industry. This road seemed impassable, so we had to go back the same way we came. Fortunately, I didn’t get tired of the beautiful scenery, so it would be nice to watch it again. My husband said to fill up the gas, but when I checked the navigation, I found that the nearest gas station was actually in Maojingba. I originally didn’t plan to go here because I took the wrong road, but this time I decided to go! Return to Meilin Town from Wangxian Line, turn onto Provincial Highway 306, and drive 28 kilometers to PetroChina Maojingba Gas Station. Fill up the tank and go to the dam from the entrance of the Forest Park Experience Base next to the gas station. It was still free when I came here in 19 years, but now Tickets are 20/person, which is much cheaper than in Maojingba Forest Park in the Hebei section. Driving into the dam, the scenery is very different from the last time I came. It happened to be the first snowfall last time, and almost all the leaves fell off. , the few remaining leaves are covered with ice shells. This time the leaves are colorful, the grass is still green, some daisies are still blooming, the mountain birds are singing happily, and the forest is filled with the joy of autumn! We walked to the top of the dam along the same route as last time, and the top of the dam was already in Hebei! The good times always pass quickly. It was already past 12 o'clock when we got off the top of the dam. Because we really missed the rice cakes, we decided to return home. The return journey still took melin to Daguang, and then to Chifeng and transferred to Danxi. The return journey was quite slow. It took a long time to come, but it was a smooth journey. It took more than 4 hours to drive home safely. The third quarter of the autumn tour to the north, which was more than 1,200 kilometers in total, ended successfully. I did not experience the legendary crowd of people stuck in highways and scenic spots, and had fun. Have fun!

Chifeng Meilingu Scenic Area: A tourist area in Inner Mongolia, located in the southwestern part of Meiling Town, Kalaqin Banner, Chifeng City, is a spontaneously formed tourist spot with the main landscape of primitive secondary forests and subalpine wetland meadows. The landscape is mainly composed of primitive secondary forests and subalpine wetland meadows. The climate in the scenic area is cool, with abundant rainfall, lush water and grass, and pleasant scenery. There are both steep peaks and numerous rivers, valleys, forests, stone pillars, and stone swords in the canyon. Scenic Area Range: The total area of ​​Meilingu Tourist Area is 90 square kilometers, including 19 slope accumulation skirts distributed in a ring shape in the northwestern part of Baoshan Village, Wanzi Village, Meiling Village, Xiaomeiling Village, Taipingzhuang Village, Gushan Village, etc. in Meiling Town, and 001 Township Road, Cunjin Line enclosed in a ring area. It is very suitable for self-driving tours and is suitable for all seasons. In 2014, Meilingu Tourist Area was rated as a AAAA-level tourist area by the National Tourism Administration. In February 2020, the 14th Winter Games of the People's Republic of China will hold three events such as alpine skiing giant slalom, slalom and snowboarding parallel giant slalom at Meilingu Ski Resort. The opening hours are from 8:30 until the last batch of tourists leave. Ticket price: Free . Main Scenic Area Introduction: Meilingu——The posture of lush water and grass: Meiling Township is located in the forest area, with a cool climate, abundant rainfall, and pleasant scenery. Historically, it was part of Mulan Weichang. There are both steep peaks and numerous rivers, valleys, forests, stone pillars, and stone swords in this canyon. Going into the mountain to enjoy the scenery along Meiling Town, Taipingzhuang, Malian Road, Xiaomeiling, Aobaoliang, Dripping Kettle, Yangcaogou, etc., are all places with continuous mountains, towering heights, undulating terrain, and rugged mountain roads, but these places are also excellent scenery. place.