Beiijing Beihai Park Tour, Beijing Attraction

Home > Beijing Attractions > Beijing Beihai Park Tour

Beijing Beihai Park Tour

Beihai Park

Beihai Park in the center of Beijing also known as Northern Sea Park, is one of the oldest and most authentically preserved ancient imperial gardens in China. It has an area of more than 70 hectares with a water surface of 39 hectares.It is used to be the former palace of the emperors in successive dynasties, called the Winter Palace by Westerners.

Beihai Park boasts a history dating back more than a millenium and existed throughout the dynasties of Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing.It was built in what is known as a "one pool and three hills" design. The design comes from a Taoist legend that says that somewhere in the East Sea there are three islands which were home to the immortals. The emperors wanted to be immortal so they built gardens in this fashion in the hopes of becoming immortals.Most of the buildings now standing were constructed during Emperor Qianlong's regin in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.). It was first opened to the public as a park in 1925.

Beihai Park is considered an ancient Chinese art form, with different features, such as artificial hills, bridges, pavilions, halls, temples and lakes.Indeed, it is like a mini Summer Palace in the heart of Beijing.

Beihai Park

Beihai Park Scenic Area is composed of Qiongdao Island, East Shore Area, North Shore Area, Dotanical Garden and Circular City. The main scenery of Beihai Park includes Beihai Lake, Qiongdao Islet, Jinxinhai, Nine Dragon Screen, Circular City, White Pagoda, Yong'an Temple and many other interesting sites.

【Qiongdao Islet】

The Qiongdao Islet which is densely distributed with halls, rockeries and pavilions stands at the centre of the park. The Yong'an Temple (Temple of Everlasting Peace) is the largest building complex which is composed of several halls, a bell tower and a drum tower. The temple used to be a place of worship for the emperors and their empresses. A white pagoda which stands out on the top of the islet is the symbol of the park. This Lamaist pagoda, 35.9 meters (117.8 feet ) high was built in 1651 where Buddhist lections, alms bowl and sarira remains of the Buddha's body are laid. West of the temple are the halls and pavilions where emperors of the Qing Dynasty had a rest, discussed official business or amused themselves. In the north of the islet, there is a two-storey corridor that offers an extensive view.

【Circular City】

Circular City is sited in the west of South Gate of Beihai Park. Circular City is surrounded by a wall and is in fact an exquisite garden.It is said to be "a small city in Beijing city". Chengguang Hall with yellow glazed tiles and green glazed eaves is quite dignified. Emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) watched firework displays on it. Since the Qing Dynasty, it has been converted into a Buddhist chapel. A statue of Buddha that is carved out of a whole piece of white jade is enshrined in the main hall. In front of the Chengguang Hall, there is pavilion with a huge wine vessel laid out. The urn is engraved with a dragon in cloud and a sea horse on waves which was once used to store the wine by Kublai Khan, the first and brave emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. Both the pine and cypress tree are around 700~800 years old, so it is worth taking a closer look.

【Five Dragon Pavilions】

Five Dragon Pavilions were built in 1602 during the Ming Dynasty. The Five-Dragon Pavilions are said to be the place where the emperors went fishing and enjoyed the bright moon. The five pavilions are connected by a sigmate bridge, which resembles a swimming dragon when seen from distance. The Colored Glazed Pavilion is a religious building and quite a dazzling attraction. It has a bright yellow roof and 1,376 small statues of Buddha made of colored glaze are engraved on the outside wall.

【Nine Dragon Screen】

Nine Dragon Screen which was bulit in 1756 is the most delicate of China's three surviving nine-dragon walls.. The wall is 6.65 meters high, 1.42 meters thick and 25.78 meters long. The whole wall is built with glazed titles. On either side of it there are nine vivid dragons, also made of glazed tiles. Each dragon plays with a pearl amidst waves of clouds.

Beihai Park

Travel Tip：

How to Get to Beihai Park?
Chinese name and Pinyin: 北海公园 (Beihai Park)
Tel: Tel：86-010-64033225
Entrance fee:
- Admission fee to the park: CNY5 / person (Nov. 1 to Mar. 31)
CNY10 / person (Apr.1 to Oct. 31)
- Ticket of Qiongdao Island: 10 CNY / person;
- Ticket of Circular City: 1 CNY / person.
Opening time: 06:30-20:00 (Nov.1 to Mar.31) -ticket sale stop at 19:30;
06:00-21:00 (April, May, September, October) -ticket sale stop at 20:30;
06:00-22:00 (Jun.1 to Aug.31)-ticket sale stop at 21:30.
Add: No.1,Wenjin Street, Xicheng District, Beijing,China
By Bus: No.5, 101, 103, 109, 124 or 685 to get off at Beihai Station. No.3, 13, 42, 107, 111, 118, 612 or 701 to Beihai Beimen Station.