Beihai Park

Lonely Planet review

A relaxing opportunity to amble about, grab a snack, sip a beer, rent a rowing boat, or admire calligraphers scribbling Chinese characters on paving slabs with water and fat brushes, Beihai Park is largely lake, or more specifically the lake of Beihai (which literally means 'North Sea'). The associated South and Middle Seas to the south together lend their name to the nerve centre of the Communist Party west of the Forbidden City, Zhōngnánhǎi.

The park, covering 68 hectares, was the former playground of the Yuan emperors. Jade Islet in the lower middle is composed of the earth scooped out to create the lake - some attribute this to Kublai Khan.

The site is associated with the Great Khan's palace, the navel of Běijīng before the Forbidden City replaced it. All that remains of the Khan's court is a large jar made of green jade dating from 1265 in the Round City (Tuán Chéng) near the park's southern entrance. Also within the Round City is the Chengguang Hall (Chéngguāng Diàn), where a white jade statue of Sakyamuni from Myanmar can be found, its arm wounded by the allied forces that entered Běijīng in 1900 to quash the Boxer Rebellion.

Dominating Jade Islet, the 36m-high White Dagoba was originally built in 1651 for a visit by the Dalai Lama, and was rebuilt in 1741. You can reach the dagoba through the Yongan Temple (included in the through ticket).