Beijing is massive. Most people stay well within the reach of the 5th Ring Road (unless it's a day trip to Badaling or the Ming Tombs). As a result, they're missing out on the real "great outdoors" -- on the outskirts of Beijing.

And we're talking about the bits of Beijing that sometimes don't even make it on the average travel guide -- or very, very rarely. We're talking about gorgeous scenery. We're talking about Beijing -- off the beaten track.

If you head over to Badaling, you'll know for one thing that Beijing isn't flat -- there are mountains around. But the mountains near Badaling aren't everything; you've only seen those mountains in the northwest. The mountains in the west are even more spectacular.

My first trip through western Beijing started about a year ago, when I stumbled upon a connection route to National Highway 109. National 109, by the way, is a major highway through western Beijing that ultimately heads west into Lhasa, Tibet; this is one of Beijing's 11 arterial national highways.

This highway I was on was called Municipal Highway 219, or the Nanyan Highway. It ran from Nankou (about some 10 - 20 km south of the Badaling Great Wall) all the way to Yanchi (which is a regional node in western Beijing; it connects with the national highway there). After leaving Nankou and heading further west, the curves became sharper and the climbing got more pronounced. Then in my Jeep, I had to shift down to 3rd and eventually 2nd gear as the machine inched forward. When I finally made it to the top of the first hill, I made it to the top of one of the peaks in the region -- around 970 meters above sea level.

The scenery has got to be seen to be believed. If you went through the Alps in Switzerland on the A13 (San Bernardino road tunnel route), this trip will evoke your memories. Having been in Switzerland for a full 12 years, I can say that this is in essence "going home in Beijing".

Heading further south, the highway passed through Dacun, where another route headed for Guanting Reservoir in Hebei connected with the Nanyan Highway. My trip further south would pass through one more mountain before heading for smoother terrain.

For about the first 60 kilometers of the National Highway, National 109 runs close to the Fengsha Railway, so I could always see railway bridges and tunnels. Right before the crossing with National 109, I went underneath a bridge (where the railway was right above).

The signpost at the crossing with the National Highway was pretty interesting: "Beijing 60 km, Hebei 60 km". The Nanyan Highway, in essence crosses, with the National Highway exactly halfway through its Beijing stretch.

Take your pick there -- either head further southwest (into Hebei) to explore more of the unknown -- or head back east into central Beijing for more of the "same old, same old" (Tian'anmen, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven...)