It’s often said that spring is the best time to visit Beijing and see everything the city as to offer. While getting out and about and experiencing everything isn’t exactly possible at the moment, that doesn’t mean you can’t start to make plans!
To that end, we have started our Best of Beijing series, where we will introduce you to the best that the Chinese capital has to offer, from food to flowers and from classical architecture to useful words and phrases especially for Beijing!
Today we start with part 1 of our series: the most beautiful places to visit around Beijing!
The Summer Palace 颐和园
This is a beautiful spot with exuberant trees and grass at the foot of the Western Hills in the western outskirts of Beijing. As the biggest imperial garden in the world, it is definitely worth visiting.
Even though it’s famous for ancient architecture combined with natural scenery, it’s also a great place to see magnolias. The Hall of Joyful Longevity is filled with the fragrance of magnolias from the end of March to early April. This period is one of the best times to visit the site. You can also see cherry blossoms here in April.
How to Get to The Summer Palace
Take Subway Line 4 and get off at Xiyuan station or Beigongmen station.
Opening Hours: Peak season (April 1 – October 31): 6:30-20:00
Off-season (November 1 – March 31): 7:00 -19:00
Address: No.23, Gongmen Qianjie, Haidian District, Beijing
Price: Off-season 20 RMB | Peak season 30 RMB
The Temple of Heaven 天坛
The Temple of Heaven is located south-east of the Forbidden City. It is four times larger than the Forbidden City and was used by emperors to hold ceremonies during the Winter Solstice Festival and to pray for good harvests in the first month of the lunar year. It is China’s largest existing structure used to make sacrifices to heaven.
This should definitely be one of the attractions on your bucket list. It’s a wonderful place to explore Chinese history and culture, as well as being a great place to see lilac flowers in Beijing. Beijing’s largest lilac grove, consisting of 240 trees, is located inside this park.
As of mid-April 2020, some sights in the park are closed, but visitors can still enter and appreciate the flowers.
How to Get to the Temple of Heaven
Take Subway Line 5 and get off at Tiantan Dongmen Station, then walk to the entrance of Temple of Heaven.
Opening Hours: Peak season (April 1 – October 31): 6:00 – 21:00
Off-season (November 1 – March 31): 6:30 – 21:00
Address: No. 1, Tiantan Road, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Price : Peak season: 10 RMB | Off-season: 15 RMB
Beijing Botanical Garden 北京植物园
Beijing Botanical Garden, located in the Western Hills in the suburbs of Beijing, is a great place of natural beauty, and is a relaxing and inexpensive place to spend a day away from the hustle and bustle of big city life.
The garden is particularly spectacular in spring with all the blossom-laden fruit trees. In the largest peach blossom garden in northern China you can see thousands of different kinds of peach trees from late March until early May. There are also many other kinds of flowers and landscapes to enjoy. The hilly natural scenery around it contributes to the beauty of the place. A visit to the garden is a truly delightful experience!
How to get to Beijing Botanical Garden
Take Line 10 and transfer to the Western Suburb (Xijiao) Line at Bagou, then get off at the Beijing Botanical Garden station.
Opening Hours: Peak Season (April 1 – October 31): 6:00-19:00
Off-season (November 1 – March 31): 7:00 -17:00
Address: Xiangshan Wofosi Road, Haidian District, Beijing
Price : Peak season: 10 RMB | Off-season: 5 RMB
Dajue Temple 大觉寺
With a history of nearly 950 years, Dajue Temple has many precious historical features. Standing at the foot of mountains, the scenery here is charming, with ancient trees, ceaseless water, and a tranquil and serene environment. The temple itself is appealing to those who are interested in Buddhism.
Constructed according to the mountain contours, Dajue Temple faces east, since the Liao people worshipped the sun. Covering an area of 1.5 acres (6,000 sq meters), it is composed of temple buildings in the middle, temporary palaces for emperors in the south and dwellings for monks in the north.
Dajue Temple is best known for its magnolia trees, planted almost 300 years ago. The magnolia flowers in Dajue Temple are exceptionally large, bright, elegant and fragrant. The ancient trees usually blossom around April 5th every year, during the traditional Chinese Qingming Festival.
There is a Tea House in the temple which offers a tea service with Taoist features, so visitors can sip tea while appreciating the flowers.
How to Get to Dajue Temple
Take Bus No. 346 at Beigongmen subway station to Zhoujiaxiang and walk for 15 minutes or take Bus No. 633 at Qinghe Xiaoying to Dajue Temple.
Opening Hours: 8:00-17:00
Address: No. 9, Dajue Temple Road, Sujiatuo town, Haidian District, Beijing
Price: RMB20
Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Park 元大都城垣遗址公园
With a length of 9 kilometers (6.6 miles), the Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Park extends across Haidian and Chaoyang districts from west to east and is the largest linear park in Beijing.
The Hundred-Bird Garden, the only bird sanctuary in Beijing, is in this park. More than 2,500 birds such as black swans, ostriches, red-crowned cranes and green peafowls are bred in the garden. At the east end of the park is the largest marsh in metropolitan Beijing. The marsh, overgrown with carpets of water lily, bulrush and flag leaf, provides a wonderland to escape from the bustling city life
It also has the largest number of Chinese flowering crabapple trees in Beijing, filled with more than 3,000 crabapple trees, and you can explore whenever you like, as it’s open 24 hours a day, free of charge.
How to Get to the Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Park
Take Subway Line 10 and get off at Beitucheng Station.
Opening Hours: 24h
Address: No.8 Shaoyaoju, Chaoyang District
Price: Free of charge
Have you ever visited the places listed above? Are there places in Beijing that you feel are even better? Let us know in the comments below, or on Facebook or Twitter. We always love hearing from you!
Photo Credits
– Cultural Keys
Contact Us
Stay up-to-date with the latest offers, information and events from Cultural Keys. Follow our Official WeChat Account by scanning the QR code (click for larger image), or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn to be the first to know!
For more information about anything on this page, or for more information about Cultural Keys, please contact us or use the form below to let us know your specific requirements.
Recent Posts
Mouseover to see left and right arrows
Upcoming Events
Mouse-over to see left and right arrows
About Cultural Keys Chinese Culture Company
Cultural Keys helps you access, understand and enjoy life in China through traditional Chinese culture. Click here to read more about Cultural Keys and what we can do for you, your school, company or group to help you get more out of your time in China!