Jingshan Park

If you’re hot and bothered after a trudge through Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City, a short climb in Jingshan Park will bring you some cooler air and great views over the palace to the south and north to the Drum Tower. It also makes a nice place to enjoy a picnic. Try to come in the morning to get the best photos from this great vantage point. The park was first created during the Ming dynasty in accordance with the principles of geomancy to protect the Forbidden City from the chilling and evil northern winds. The hill it sits upon was made from the earth excavated to create the Forbidden City’s moat. The park outlasted the dynasty and is now famous as the place where the last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, hanged himself in 1644. You can still see the spot where he ended his life, although the tree here isn’t the original.

Beihai Park

Set on the site of the Mongol Yuan dynasty’s Dadu Palaces, Beihai (North Sea) is a continuation of the Zhongnanhai (Middle and South Sea) lakes, which were excavated at Kublai Khan’s orders and run up to Qianhai and Houhai. Beihai is a lovely park, dominated by water, and it houses a grand dagoba (Lamaist Stupa), which was built for a visit by the Dalai Lama and sits on Qiong Island in the south of the lake. Entering the park through its southern gate, you’ll immediately come to the Round City, the only remaining part of Mongol Dadu. Here, there is a courtyard where you’ll see a jade bowl that reputedly belonged to Kublai Khan himself. From here a bridge leads to Qiong Island and the Yong’an (Eternal Peace) Temple. At the top of the island hill you’ll see the gleaming white dagoba, while the north of the island holds the renowned imperial restaurant, Fangshan. You can take boats from here across to the northern side of the lake, where you’ll find another of the park’s key attractions, the 88-foot-long Nine Dragon Screen, made up of some 400 tiles and designed to confound evil spirits.

Shichahai (Qianhai & Houhai)

Zhongnanhai, Beihai, Qianhai and Houhai are all part of a chain of lakes that stretch northwest from the Forbidden City. There have always been ephemeral watercourses here, appearing during times of flood and disappearing during drought, but these areas were connected and expanded under the Yuan dynasty in 1293 and formed the northern terminus for the Grand Canal from Hangzhou. The area flourished as a religious, as well as a trade, center and thus earned its current name, Shichahai (10 Temples of the Sea). It became a popular place to come and relax by the water, a function Qianhai and Houhai still serve today. Shichahai’s proximity to the seat of power and waterfront property appealed to those with business in court and the area developed as an upmarket residential hutong district, which has housed imperial relatives like Prince Gong and aristocrats such as Soong Qingling over the years.

The hutong here still offer a real escape from brash modernity and are a great part of the city for a cycle rickshaw ride. But if you want a break from sightseeing, the area is worth a visit for the bars and restaurants that have taken over the waterfront streets.

In the summer the lakes offer boating, bike rental and you’ll even see people swimming; in the winter, skating is popular. You’ll see boat rental places scattered around the lakes, ranging from simple paddle affairs (¥40, plus ¥200 deposit) to electric boats (¥60-120, plus deposit) and 15-person wooden crafts (¥300), which come complete with oarsmen and, if you want to add to the ambience, you can hire an erhu player (see Traditional Music, p. 62; ¥100 per hour) and even some snacks or a full-blown meal to enjoy onboard.