Parks, Beijing

Fragrant Hills Botanical Gardens - Xiang1 shan1 Zhi2 wu4 yuan2

This botanical garden, located near the Fragrant Hills Park, is perfect for plant lovers. There are tons of different types of plants native to China. I'm not a big plant lover, but I still enjoyed the Xiang1 shan1 Zhi2 wu4 yuan2, mainly due to an incredibly interesting temple, located near the gardens. The Wo4 fo2 Si4 (Temple of the Reclining Buddha), from the Tang dynasty, is extremely interesting. At the temple there is a 54 ton Sakyamuni (Buddha) statue, which, is said to have the bodies of 7000 people inside it. The enterence fee to the temple is Y5 and the enterence fee to the gardens is Y5 also. The temple is open from 8:00 - 17:00 and the gardens are open from 6:00 to 20:00.

This cool park is located near the Summer Palace, north of Beijing. To enter the park is free, but to enter some of the nearby gates and temples will cost you some Yuan. The park is the last stop for the city metro and buses, and it is not that hard to reach, especially from the Summer Palace (bus 333 from the Palace and No 318 from Beijing). You can get some excellent views of the Beijing countryside by hiking up (or taking the chairlift Y30/50) the Incense-Burner Peak. You can also visit the Bi4 yun2 Si4 Temple (enterence fee Y10), located near the north gate to the park. At the temple there some amazing statues and stuff.

This place is not as famous as greatwall or forbidden city, however, I still suggest visiting if you have time. It is a garden built in modern time, however, it is based on one of the most famous novels from Qing dynasty. (Sorry I can't remember the name of the novel now but I will edit this when I remember). TV that is based on this novel was also made in this garden.

Parks - there are a handful of them, so check on a map depending on where you are. Go early in the morning and you'll see the old men hanging their birdcages in trees to chirp away while their wives do Tai Chi. They're really happy to talk to inquisitive foreigners, especially if you eat a traditional Chinese breakfast with them.
Blow up this picture to see the people doing Tai Chi - so peaceful.

Located in Xuanwu District southwest of Beijing, the present Grand View Garden is a replica of Daguanyuan the magnificent garden of an imperial family described in the well-known Chinese novel 'A Dream of Red Mansions' by a Qing Dynasty writer Cao Xueqin (17l5-l763). The site used to be a park dotted with willows and pines. In l984, the China Television Film Production Centre decided to use it as the setting to shoot garden scenes for the TV series 'A Dream of Red Mansions'. The Xuanwu District Government then suggested that the temporary garden be turned into a permanent scenic spot. Thus the plan to build the Grand View Garden faithful to the writer's description has come into being.
The project started in June 1984 and is expected to be completed in 1988. The Grand View Garden covers 110,000 square metres and includes more than 40 scenic spots illustrating the main plots in the garden. The stonework covers an area of more than 8,000 square metres and the lakes and canals 24,000 sq.m. The construction work is divided into three stages, of which the first stage in the southern part of the garden cost about 4 million yuan (about l.4 million US dollars) and was opened to the public in early 1985 . It includes a front gate, four courtyards, Qinfang Bridge, Dicui Pavilion, winding paths and other scenic sites. Every effort has been made to be accurate in reproduction of Daguanyuan. Horticulturists, architects, archaeologists and experts on the history of the famous novel were asked to pay much attention to the layout of the whole garden, the location of trees, the arrangement of the rockery, and the decoration of the main characters' homes.

Ritan Park was busy on Sunday morning. Many Chinese people were enjoying in each way, folk dance, tai chi, social dance, and practicing the rope skipping by more than 10 people. This is the good place for a walk in the morning. From the healthy active Chinese people, I got much energy for the life.

The last Ming emperor is supposed to have hung himself on this hill as his dynasty collapsed in 1644. The park overlooks the city and the roofs of the Forbidden City.

This park dates back to 1530 and revolves around a sanctuary where the emperor offered sacrifices to the god of the earth. Locals come here to dance under the tree to music from radios.

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Bei Hai Park is a famous park of beijing, people likes to go there for a short visit, climb Bai Ta, walking around the lake, even skiing on the lake in winter.

Check out DA GUAN YUAN... And here we are at the main entrance to this enchanting place!