Shidu is a karst valley in Fangshan District, south-west Beijing, where the Juma River winds between limestone peaks and cliffs. Named after the ten river crossings on the old road through the gorge, it is part of the Fangshan UNESCO Global Geopark and is the best-known karst landscape in northern China.
- UNESCO Global Geopark (as part of Fangshan) · 2006
Key facts
- Landform
- Northern karst, incised meandering gorge
- River
- Juma River (拒马河)
- UNESCO Global Geopark
- 2006, as part of Fangshan[1]
- Location
- Fangshan District, Beijing
Overview
Karst scenery is usually associated with Guilin and the far south, but the Juma River has cut a similar landscape into the limestone of the Taihang foothills barely 100 km from central Beijing. For about 20 km the river loops between steep grey peaks, pinnacles and cliffs, with villages, orchards and gravel bars on the valley floor.
Before the modern road, travellers had to ford the river again and again; the villages still carry the names of the crossings, from Yidu (the first crossing) to Shidu (the tenth). Today the valley is a summer retreat for Beijing families, with river rafting, walking in the side gorges and simple farm guesthouses.
How the landscape formed
The rocks of Shidu are thick Middle Proterozoic and Ordovician dolomites and limestones, laid down in shallow seas more than 450 million years ago and later lifted by the Yanshan and Himalayan movements. As the land rose, the Juma River kept pace and entrenched its meanders into the rising block, producing an incised meandering gorge. Rainwater dissolving the carbonate along joints left free-standing peaks, sheer walls, arches and caves. Because the climate is dry and cold compared with southern China, the karst here is more rugged and less rounded: a textbook example of northern karst.
Highlights
Juma River
拒马河
The river whose meanders shape the gorge; its name, “resisting horses”, is often explained by its once dangerous floods.
Gushanzhai
孤山寨
A narrow side canyon with stepped paths, cliffs and a lone peak rising above the valley.
Xianfeng Valley
仙峰谷
A forested side valley with pools, small waterfalls and paths to ridge viewpoints.
Donghu Harbour
东湖港
A gorge with caves, springs and a pool reached through a narrow cleft.
Karst peak forest
十渡峰林
The peaks between the eighth and tenth crossings, where the valley is at its most dramatic.
Plants and wildlife
The valley lies in the transition between the North China Plain and the Taihang mountains. Slopes carry scrub and secondary woodland of oak, elm and ash; the river corridor is lined with willows and poplars. The Juma is one of the few Beijing rivers that still flows year-round, and its clear water supports fish and water birds.
Plants
Chinese chaste tree
荆条
Vitex negundo, the typical scrub of dry limestone slopes around Beijing, flowering violet in summer.
Oriental arborvitae
侧柏
Platycladus orientalis, clinging to cliff ledges.
Persimmon
柿树
Orchards on the valley floor turn orange with fruit in autumn.
Wildlife
Common kingfisher
普通翠鸟
Hunts small fish from branches over the clear side streams.
Little egret
白鹭
Common along the river shallows in summer.
Culture and legend
The Juma valley was a route between the plain and the Taihang uplands and, during the war against Japan, the heart of the Pingxi (West Beijing) base area of the Communist-led resistance. Villages in the valley keep old stone houses, and the nearby Fangshan district holds major cultural sites: the Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian and the stone-carved sutras of Yunju Temple.
Pingxi Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall
平西抗日战争纪念馆
A museum in the Shidu area on the resistance base that operated in the hills west of Beijing from 1938.
Zhoukoudian
周口店
The Peking Man site, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987, in the same district and the same geopark.
Yunju Temple
云居寺
A Buddhist temple famous for more than 14,000 sutra slabs carved from the Sui dynasty onwards.
History
Ancient road
Ten fords give the valley its name
The road from the plain into the Taihang crossed the Juma ten times, and the villages are numbered after the fords.
1938–1945
Pingxi resistance base
The rugged valley shelters guerrilla forces operating against the Japanese occupation of Beijing.
2006
Fangshan UNESCO Global Geopark
Shidu becomes part of a geopark that also includes Zhoukoudian, Shihua Cave and Yunju Temple.
Through the seasons
Spring
Fruit trees blossom in April; the river is low and clear, and the peaks are still bare.
Summer
The main season, when rafting and river play draw weekend crowds; heavy summer storms can raise the river quickly.
Autumn
Dry, clear weather, red leaves on the slopes and persimmons on the trees — the best time for walking.
Winter
Cold and quiet, with ice along the river margins and few visitors.
Routes and ways in
Valley road
The road follows the river from Zhangfang past each crossing to Shidu village; the finest scenery lies around the eighth to tenth crossings.
Side gorges on foot
Gushanzhai, Xianfeng Valley and Donghu Harbour each offer a half-day walk on stepped paths into the cliffs.
Practical notes
- Shidu is in Fangshan District about 100 km south-west of central Beijing; suburban trains and roads reach the valley.
- In summer the Juma can flood after storms; do not wade or swim when the water is high or muddy.
- Many visitors stay in farm guesthouses (农家院, nóngjiāyuàn) in the villages along the river.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Fangshan UNESCO Global Geopark — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Fangshan District People's Government — Beijing Fangshan District People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Visit Beijing — Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism (retrieved 27 September 2026)