Sights in Běijīng
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Azure Clouds Temple
Superb in the autumn, when the abundant maple leaves turn a flaming red, but great any time when the weather is right, this park snuggled in the Western Hills teems with hikers and day trippers at weekends. Make sure to check the view of Beijing available from Incense-Burner Peak – there’s a chairlift if you don’t fancy the walk – and to visit the lovely Azure Clouds Temple, which dates back to the Yuan dynasty.
reviewed
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Chairlift
Superb in the autumn, when the abundant maple leaves turn a flaming red, but great any time when the weather is right, this park snuggled in the Western Hills teems with hikers and day trippers at weekends. Make sure to check the view of Beijing available from Incense-Burner Peak – there’s a chairlift if you don’t fancy the walk – and to visit the lovely Azure Clouds Temple, which dates back to the Yuan dynasty.
reviewed
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China Numismatic Museum
This intriguing three-floor museum follows the technology of money production in China from the spade-shaped coins of the Spring and Autumn period to the coinage and paper currency of the modern day. Of particular interest are the top-floor samples of modern Chinese paper renminbi, from the pragmatic illustrations of the first series to the far more idealistic third series (1962) and the fourth series dating from 1987, still adorned with Mao’s head.
reviewed
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MR Gallery
The 798 Art District (大山子艺术区), also known as Dashanzi, sits in northeastern Chaoyang; see p16. Some of the most important galleries here include Galleria Continua, which specialises in Chinese installation and video art, and Amelie Gallery, a great place to check out contemporary Chinese painters. Head to the MR Gallery for photography from China and abroad.
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North Cathedral
Also called the Cathedral of Our Saviour, this august cathedral is one of Běijīng’s four main churches and the only one located within the former grounds of the Imperial City. Built in 1887, the cathedral served as a factory warehouse during the Cultural Revolution. Despite being covered in gaudy grey, flaking paint, the cathedral is worth visiting, especially for those keen to glimpse the growing stature of Christianity in China.
reviewed
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Commune by the Great Wall
For something different, check out Commune by the Great Wall, 70km northwest of Beijing. Stunning contemporary ‘villas’, each designed differently by some of Asia’s hottest architects, form one of the most offbeat and luxurious hotels in Beijing with 46 guest rooms spread among 12 luxury villas. The commune can be experienced on a guided tour through the grounds and any unoccupied rooms. Book the tour in advance.
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Galleria Continua
The 798 Art District (大山子艺术区), also known as Dashanzi, sits in northeastern Chaoyang. Some of the most important galleries here include Galleria Continua, which specialises in Chinese installation and video art, and Amelie Gallery, a great place to check out contemporary Chinese painters. Head to the MR Gallery for photography from China and abroad.
reviewed
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Amelie Gallery
The 798 Art District (大山子艺术区), also known as Dashanzi, sits in northeastern Chaoyang. Some of the most important galleries here include Galleria Continua, which specialises in Chinese installation and video art, and Amelie Gallery, a great place to check out contemporary Chinese painters. Head to the MR Gallery for photography from China and abroad.
reviewed
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Songtangzhai Museum
Just east of the Confucius Temple is the relocated Songtangzhai Museum, where you can view a lovely collection of traditional carved gateways, drum stones, Buddhist effigies, ancient pillar bases and stone lions. It advertises itself as being free but that’s only the front part; if you delve into the more interesting rear section, you get stung for Y30 (or Y100 for a tour with a guide – not worth it).
reviewed
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Hall of Jewellery
On the western and eastern sides of the Forbidden City are an assortment of libraries, temples, theatres and gardens. Some are now museums that require additional entry fees. Make sure you visit the Hall of Jewellery, and don’t miss the Clocks & Watches Gallery. The gallery boasts a dazzling array of timepieces, many of which were gifts to the Qing emperors from abroad.
reviewed
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Clocks & Watches Gallery
On the western and eastern sides of the Forbidden City are an assortment of libraries, temples, theatres and gardens. Some are now museums that require additional entry fees. Make sure you visit the Hall of Jewellery, and don’t miss the Clocks & Watches Gallery. The gallery boasts a dazzling array of timepieces, many of which were gifts to the Qing emperors from abroad.
reviewed
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Lama Temple
This exceptional temple is a glittering attraction in Běijīng's Buddhist firmament. If you only have time for one temple (the Temple of Heaven isn't really a temple) make it this one, where riveting roofs, fabulous frescoes, magnificent decorative arches, tapestries, eye-popping carpentry, Tibetan prayer wheels, tantric statues and a superb pair of Chinese lions mingle with dense clouds of incense.
The most renowned Tibetan Buddhist temple outside the historic lands of Tibet, the Lama Temple was converted to a lamasery in 1744 after serving as the former residence of Emperor Yong Zheng. Today the temple is an active place of worship, attracting pilgrims from afar, some…
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Beijing Wangfujing Paleolithic Museum
Archaeologists and anthropologists will be rewarded at this simple museum detailing the tools and relics (stone flakes, bone scrapers, fragments of bone etc) of Late Pleistocene Man who once inhabited Běijīng. The discoveries on display were unearthed during the excavation of the foundations of Oriental Plaza in 1996. To find the museum, take exit ‘A’ from Wangfujing Station.
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Běijīng Zoo
The zoo is a pleasant spot for a stroll among the trees, grass and willow-fringed lakes as long as you ignore the animal's pitiful cages and enclosures. If you want to see fauna, it's best just to zero in on the pandas (if you are not going to Sìchuān) or the Běijīng Aquarium in the northeastern corner of the zoo.
reviewed
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Jūyōngguān
First constructed in the 5th century, rebuilt by the Ming and more recently restored, Jūyōngguān was considered one of the most strategically significant parts of the Wall. This is the closest section of wall to Běijīng, but it has been over-renovated, so little authenticity remains. Usually quiet, the steep and somewhat strenuous circuit can be done in under two hours.
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Wuta Temple
It looks more like an Indian temple because this secluded, Ming-era Buddhist structure has a unique five-pagoda roof. A very narrow staircase, which is not always open, leads to the roof. At the back of the complex is the interesting Stone Carving Museum, with a collection of stone statues and stelae. The temple is directly opposite the rear exit of the Beijing Zoo.
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Southeast Watchtower
This Ming-era watchtower has 144 archer windows but is also notable for the ‘I was here’ graffiti left by iternational troops during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. On the tower’s 2nd floor there are historical exhibits about Chongwen district. With the admission ticket, you’re allowed to walk the 100m stretch of old city wall attached to the tower.
reviewed
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Bird’s Nest
Way up in the north of Chaoyang, the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium, the stunning centrepiece of the 2008 Olympics, now stands mostly idle. It’s still a remarkable, if rapidly rusting, venue and if you want to relive the events of August 2008, this is the best place to do it. For an extra Y200, you can ascend the medals podium and make like a winner.
reviewed
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Xibianmen Watchtower
The counterpart of the Southeast Corner Watchtower, the Xibianmen Watchtower is not as impressive as its robust and better- known sibling, but you can climb up onto a section of the old city wall amid the roaring traffic. The overlooked watchtower is simply shrieking to be converted into a boutique hotel (although parking could be a problem).
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Creation Art Gallery
This well-lit, intimate space off the northeast corner of Ritan Park presents an enjoyable array of paintings and sculptures, with a small area for sedentary contemplation of what’s on view. Of the 20 or 30 artworks – many contemporary landscapes – several are composed by the gallery owner, Li Xiaoke. Prices start at around US$800.
reviewed
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Arthur M Sackler Museum of Art & Archaeology
Home to an important, well- presented collection of relics from primordial China, including the skeleton of the 280,000-year-old Jinniushan Man, this museum is tucked away on the leafy campus of Peking University. It’s a good spot to escape the hustle of Wudaokou. To get here, enter via the west gate of the university and follow the signs.
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Red Gate Gallery
When it opened in 1991, Red Gate was Beijing’s first gallery devoted to Chinese contemporary art. With its stunning watchtower setting, Red Gate remains one of the most influential art spaces in the city. It’s located on the tower’s 1st floor; you usually don’t need to pay the tower’s admission fee to visit.
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Dōngyuè Temple
Dating to 1607, this active temple's splendid páifāng (memorial archway) lies to the south, spliced from its shrine by the noisy intervention of Chaoyangmenwai Dajie. Stepping through the entrance pops you into a Taoist Hades, where tormented spirits in numerous halls reflect on their wrongdoing. Visiting during festival time, especially during the Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival, sees the temple at its most colourful.
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Song Qingling Former Residence
Madam Song is lovingly venerated by the Chinese as the wife of Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Republic of China. Her house is rather dormant and moth-eaten; on display are personal items, pictures, clothing and books. You can find the museum on the northern side of Houhai Lake and within reach of Prince Gong’s residence.
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Beijing Imperial City Art Museum
Devoted to maintaining the memory of the imperial city, this museum has visitor-friendly English captions, a permanent collection of impressive Ming- and Qing-era ornaments and rotating temporary exhibits, often from the Forbidden City. Check out the diorama of old Beijing for a sense of how impressive the imperial city was.
reviewed