Park sights in Běijīng
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Temple of Heaven Park
A tranquil oasis of peace and methodical Confucian design in one of China's busiest urban landscapes, the 267-hectare Temple of Heaven Park is encompassed by a long wall with a gate at each compass point. The temple – the Chinese actually means 'Altar of Heaven' so don't expect burning incense or worshippers – originally served as a vast stage for solemn rites performed by the Son of Heaven, who prayed here for good harvests, and sought divine clearance and atonement.
The arrangement is typical of Chinese parks, with the imperfections, bumps and wild irregularities of nature largely deleted and the harmonising hand of man accentuated in obsessively straight lines and r…
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B
Workers Cultural Palace
Despite the prosaic name and epicentral location at the very heart of town, this reclusive park, northeast of the Gate of Heavenly Peace, is one of Běijīng’s best-kept secrets, and a bargain to boot. Few visitors divert here from their course towards the main gate of the Forbidden City, but this was the emperor’s premier place of worship and contains the SupremeTemple ( 太庙; Tài Miào). If you find the Forbidden City either too colossal or crowded, the temple halls here are a cheaper, much more tranquil and far more manageable alternative. The huge halls of the temple remain, their roofs enveloped in imperial yellow tiles, beyond a quiet grove of ancient cypresses and…
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C
Fragrant Hills Park
The part of the Western Hills (Xīshān) closest to Běijīng is known as Fragrant Hills Park. It's at its prettiest (and busiest) in autumn, when the maple leaves saturate the hillsides in great splashes of crimson, but the hilly park is a great escape from town any time of year. You can scramble up the slopes to the top of Incense-Burner Peak (香炉峰; Xiānglú Fēng) or take the chairlift.
Near the north gate of Fragrant Hills Park is the excellent Azure Clouds Temple, which dates to the Yuan dynasty. The Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall contains a statue and a glass coffin donated by the USSR on the death of Sun Yatsen, while at the very back is the marble Vajra Throne Pago…
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D
Běijīng Botanic Gardens
Located 2km northeast of Fragrant Hills Park, the well-tended Botanic Gardens, set against the backdrop of the Western Hills, make for a pleasant outing among bamboo fronds, pines, orchids and lilacs. The Běijīng Botanic Gardens Conservatory contains 3000 different types of plants and a rainforest house.
About a 15-minute walk north from the front gate (follow the signs) near the Magnolia Garden is the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wòfó Sì). First built in the Tang dynasty, the temple's centrepiece is a huge reclining effigy of Sakyamuni weighing in at 54 tonnes, which 'enslaved 7000 people' in its casting. The reclining form of Buddha represents his moment of death, …
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Olympic Forest Park
The humungous 680-hectare grassy expanse goes on forever so if you're looking for a casual stroll, stick to parks in the centre of town. In summer you can hop on a boat across the lake, which seethes with fat and well-fed fish, hike along brick and concrete paths or simply make a break for the hills. Considering the epic scale of the park, it's a great way to shed a kilo or two but you may end up flagging down a passing electric buggy (Y20; 9am to 5pm) when your shuddering legs start folding at the knees.
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Yuan-Dynasty Walls Relics Park
The name is rather an ambitious misnomer as there aren’t many genuine Yuan-dynasty relics here, but this slender strip of parkland, running alongside the Little Moon River (Xiǎoyuè Hé), commemorates a strip of the long-vanished Mongol city wall that it is built upon. At 9km in length, this is Běijīng’s longest parkland, beginning in Hǎidiàn district and charting a course east into Cháoyáng. The original wall was made of tamped earth, and not clad in brick like the later Ming- and Qing-dynasty city walls. It’s a relaxing place for a stroll and you can check out the Beijing Hundred-Bird Garden (Běijīng Bǎiniǎo Yuán), a sanctuary for thousands of fowl.
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E
Běihǎi Park
Běihǎi Park, northwest of the Forbidden City, is largely occupied by the North Sea (běihǎi), a huge lake that freezes in winter and blooms with lotuses in summer. Old folk dance together outside temple halls and come twilight, young couples cuddle on benches. It's a restful place to stroll around, rent a rowing boat in summer and watch calligraphers practising characters on paving slabs with fat brushes and water. Some talented calligraphers can fashion characters simultaneously with both hands, with one side in mirror-writing or with characters on their sides!
The site is associated with Kublai Khan's palace, Běijīng's navel before the arrival of the Forbidden City. A…
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Rìtán Park
Established as an altar for ritual sacrifice to the sun, this is one of Běijīng's oldest and most pleasant parks. The square altar, typically surrounded by kite flyers and playing children, is ringed by a circular wall, while the rest of the park is devoted to pines, quietude, the rituals of taichi practitioners and martial arts shīfu. The park is also home to a decent outdoor climbing wall if you want to climb off calories acquired from the park's gaggle of popular bars and restaurants.
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Jǐngshān Park
A feng shui barrier shielding the Forbidden City from evil spirits (or dust storms), Jǐngshān Park was formed from the earth excavated to create the palace moat. Come here for classic panoramas over the Forbidden City's russet roofing to the south. On the eastern side of the park a locust tree stands in the place where the last of the Ming emperors, Chongzhen, hanged himself as rebels swarmed at the city walls.
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