 | Beijing Beijing's Parks Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 29 |  |
 | |  |  | Beijing's Parks: Beihai Park | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
The North Lake Park was originally the private pleasure gardens of the earlier Chinese royal dynasties. The lake, and surrounding parks, allow you to get away from the noise and pollution of the city streets. You can hire a boat for an hour or two and just cruise the lake, perhaps heading up the steep steps to the White Dagoba to watch the skillful kite flyers, their creations soaring high above the city rooftops. On the southern edge is the old Round City - once an island in the lake, with its views over the private government compund of Zhongnanhai. Below the Dagoba the Temple of Eternal Peace descends down the hillside in steps, right to the bottom. Jingxinzhai (The Study of the Tranquil Heart) is still the quietest spot in the park, a small network of gardens, pools, rockeries and shrubs - a garden withinh a garden - where lovers come for a little peace. Nearby, further pavilions, temples and courtyards provide space for teahouses, for contemplation and even a small art gallery. In the spring, the park is awash with colour and fragrance, especially the stately magnolia trees. The finale for your afternoon should be to sit in the Five Dragons Pavilion and listen to the old men and women play their ancient instruments. As the music gets going, elderly couples get up to dance in the small pavilions. These performances are better than any you will pay to see. The best time to visit was during SARS, when the crowds stayed at home, hiding under their beds, but Beihai Park is a pleasure at any time of the year. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Beijing's Parks: Beijing Botanical Gardens | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Close to the Summer Palace and Fragrant Hills is another well-kept Beijing secret - ther Botanical Gardens. During SARS, parks and gardens were about the only places you could go, and this very special park has remained a favourite for our family. China builds botanical gardens better than anything else, and the one in beijing is no exception. It is not a natural landscape, but the park is surrounded by the Western Hills and the park landscaping complements them. Children can run free in huge expanses of meadow, can fish for tadpoles in spring and feed big fat lazy carp all year round. Little glades, gardens and gasshouses show off the Chinese talent for making plants grow. If you like gardens, you will not be disappointed, if you want a bit of space to leap around, then you will also enjoy this great big Beijing lung. Fresh air, peace, a picnic, snoozing in the sunshine. Love it! Leave a Comment
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| | | | Beijing's Parks: Zongshan Park | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Just metres away from the crowds of Tiananmen Square lies the spacious tranquility of one of Beijing's best kept secrets, Zongshan Park. Originally the site of an early temple, then the Temple of Earth and Grain in the Qing Dynasty, the park is best known by Beijing people for the small museum commemorating Dr Sun Yat-Sen, the father of Chinese democracy. He was born in 1866 and died in 1925, and only visited the northern capital three times, but a special place is reserved in Chinese hearts for this thoughtful and passionate man. The simple museum (entrance RMB2) is held in the former emperor's hall (from where the emperors could oversee the religious rituals if the weather was bad). The basic outline of Sun Yat-Sen's life is explained in English panels, and the intelligent visitor will also be able to link some of the photographs (captioned only in Chinese) with the events mentioned. Note especially the autopsy report (in English). The wooden building itself is beautifully austere and a superb example of classic Chinese architecture, and dates from 1421. The park is much larger than it looks on the map, and is divided into many different areas. The ancient cypress trees are a legacy from the earlier days as a temple, and in the north-east corner of the 'front garden' note where a scholar tree has grown up right through a cypress tree. Other small gardens are well landscaped, and there are many pavilions, including one little octagonal one, where junior court officials would practice the elaborate and complicated court rituals. You can get away from the Beijing crowds for hours or even a whole day in this rather special, secluded park. Leave a Comment
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on January 9, 2004
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