Guyaju is the strangest archaeological site within reach of Beijing. In the hills of the Yanqing district, about ninety kilometres north-west of the city, a granite cliff face has been cut into more than a hundred chambers - some of them single rooms, some arranged as suites with a central space and small side rooms, all with square doorways and windows opening onto the outside of the rock. There are hearths, niches, stone benches, store pits and what appear to be channels for water. No document explains who made them, and no burial or occupation layer has settled the question.
What is there
The chambers are cut into two main groups of rock, reached by a short climb on foot. They are not natural caves improved by hand; the walls, floors and ceilings are squared off with tool marks still visible, and the larger chambers have carved pillars left in place to support the roof. Some rooms have a raised platform that looks like a sleeping bench, some have small holes cut for roof beams, and a few have very small openings that are hard to explain except as vents or storage. Climbing through them is straightforward but requires care, since the stairs and doorways are worn and uneven.
Who built them
Nobody knows for certain. The two most common theories attribute the settlement either to a non-Han people recorded in the region during the Tang and Five Dynasties periods, who were pushed out of the northern grasslands and settled in the mountains, or to a garrison that took refuge in the hills during a period of war. The absence of writing, the small number of objects found, and the fact that the chambers appear to have been abandoned rather than destroyed, have all kept the question open. That uncertainty is part of the site's interest - you are looking at architecture made by people whose name has not come down to us.
Practical notes
Guyaju is about two hours from central Beijing by road and is usually visited as a half-day trip on the way to or from the Yanqing and Badaling area, or combined with the Longqing Gorge. There is an admission charge and the site is open daily in daylight hours; it is steep, exposed and hot in summer, with little shade, and the stone is slippery after rain. Wear shoes with grip. Weekday mornings are the quietest, and the site is small enough to see properly in about an hour and a half.
