We think Beijing is an amazing big city with lots to see and do…however, we are Canadians who love their nature. We needed a fix. But where to go in a city of 20 million people? When one thinks of Beijing–parks are not the first thing to come to mind. We were pleasantly surprised at how many “escapes” there are throughout the city.
The first park we went to was Beihei Park which was created in the centre of Beijing in 1166 during the Jin Dynasty. It was originally created for the royal families, but is now packed with all types of families as well as singles and couples. The park is enormous (69 hectares) and is the earliest and best preserved imperial garden in the world. We walked through the park and admired the gorgeous spring flowers as we listened to the birds and the Chinese opera Kareoke singers!
It was a warm day so we jumped on a peddle boat and went for a spin across the water.
Throughout the park we met people who were always willing to share their talents, including some older folks who took the time to help us learn “the Devil sticks”, as well as Chinese Yo Yos.
There were also all kinds of amazing art installations throughout the park. One of our favourites was a really cool dragon screen.
On another day, we visited the Olympic Park – home of the famous 2008 Beijing athletic extravaganza. Of course we made sure to get pictures of the “Bird’s Nest” and the Cube where Michael Phelps performed his swimming magic. It was a really neat facility but the admission charges were a little steep for us so we just enjoyed walking around. It reminded us of the other Olympic parks we have visited throughout our travels such as London, Athens, Olympia, and Hong Kong.
Our favourite park (if you can call it that) was the Summer Palace. All of us agreed it was one of the most beautiful spots we had seen in Beijing. The Summer Palace was originally created for the emperor as an escape from the Forbidden City. The original park (1100s) was burned by the British at one point and it has since been rebuilt and renovated a number of times (since 1750s).
The Palace is divided into two sections – the Longevity Hill and the man-made Kunming Lake. On the Hill, there are numerous temples and pavilions that are simply stunning.
One area had a long outdoor corridor that was 700m and filled with Chinese artwork that highlighted some of their legends and myths. It was like a gigantic outdoor storybook!
For us, the lake area was our favourite. We were able to walk around the perimeter and really enjoy the beautiful nature. There were some interesting bridges and pavilions along the way too. We could have spent days at the Palace as there was so much to see and do.
We were really impressed with the parks in Beijing and how one can escape from the regular city life and be swallowed up into some beautiful spaces. If we were living in Beijing, we would be sure to join the locals and make all of these parks part of our regular lives! These outdoor spaces were definitely part of our highlights!
Comments
4 responses to “Escape From the City”
Hi Kat,
The parks look absolutely beautiful!!!! I enjoyed the architecture of the bridges and the marble boat. It is interesting to know the history of the parks. Thanks for sharing. Love, Mom
Hi Mom,
THe marble boat was gorgeous…but it was wood painted to look like marble. Otherwise – it would sink!
Cheers,
Kat:)
Beautiful pictures. I had totally forgotten that I had been in the ‘Summer Palace” as part of my trip back in ’86. You had a lovely sunny dat, and as I now remember it, our day was a bit overcast. The concrete boat was pretty impressive. Does it actually float?
Hi Herta,
The marble boat was actually wood painted to look like marble so it was able to float. But from my understanding the boat is docked and used for tourists now as a photo opportunity:)
Cheers,
Kat:)