Longqing Gorge in Yanqing district is called the "Little Three Gorges" for its karsts.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Beijing's suburbs offer exceptional excursions to discover destinations less central than the icons - yet they are capital sites in every sense. Erik Nilsson explores a three-day itinerary through the metropolis' hinterlands.

The Great Wall is great. It lives up to its namesake. The Forbidden City is foreboding - in a good way. And the Summer Palace draws crowds in all seasons - for many reasons.

Beijing is a metropolis, where most iconic sites gravitate toward its nucleus.

But its downtown of hutong ringed by high rises is orbited by a treasure trove of hidden gems beyond such crown-jewel icons within the Sixth Ring Road - plus those beyond, including the Wall.

The capital is also among the Chinese cities offering 72-hour visa-free transit to foreign visitors from dozens of countries.

China Daily hits the road and heads out of town to discover what travelers can explore around Beijing within three days.

DAY 1

Longqing Gorge (Yanqing)

First, a giant plastic dragon swallows you. Then, it spits you out atop Longqing Gorge.

The Soaring Dragon Escalator earned an inscription in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest series of consecutive escalators. But its aesthetics endow an appeal beyond metrics.

Longqing Gorge is nicknamed the "Little Three Gorges" for its karsts. They conjure something like a miniaturized version of Southwest China's globally acclaimed trio of canyons flanked by jutting peaks.

These fantastical formations here are smaller but sheerer, and are best explored aboard dragon-shaped gondolas.

Temples teeter atop the crags, which sporadically gush with waterfalls.

The 100 Flowers Cave has been arranged into subterranean exhibits displaying sceneries from various regions of China with a profusion of plastic blooms that serve its namesake.