The Water World in Qingnianhu Park is a 1.5-hectare activity paradise for tourists who want to enjoy the great outdoors and soak up the sun. The spacious park can accommodate as much as 3,000 visitors at one time. For its numerous features, the Water World in Qingnianhu Park was recognized as one of the top 8 water theme parks in China alongside the Water World in the Water Cube and Sun Park.

The Water World is just one of the many features of Qingnianhu Park, which literally means “lake of youngsters. It was excavated in 1960 by a young brood of lads with the help of the local government. In total, Qingnianhu Park occupies 16.9 hectares of land, 6.38 hectares of which is occupied by water.

Whether you’re a foreign tourist or a weary worker in search of rest and relaxation, the Water World in Qingnianhu Park is the perfect destination for you.

The Water World in Qingnianhu Park is a 1.5-hectare outdoor paradise of water recreations, with a maximum capacity of more than 3,000 tourists. It features slides in different shapes, kids' water slides and other entertaining facilities for kids.

The Water World is also a perfect place for daytime office workers to relax and cool down after work. The floodlit pools at the Water World keep the park open into the evenings during the peak summer months.

Tuanjiehu is home to downtown Beijing's best and most hygiene-conscious water park, which is great fun on weekdays but crowded on weekends. Tuanjiehu also features a roller-skating park, several rides and boats.

Tuanjiehu Park is an ideal spot for great summer fun. The park features a large swimming pool with a wave machine and a tiny but hot man-made yellow sand beach surrounding the pool.

The park is so clean that it attracts many families with kids. Additional kids activities at the park includes boating and roller skating.

The park has free locker, but showering at the park is a big challenge, because only cold water is offered here.

Beach: RMB 20, RMB 15 (kids). Pleasure boats: RMB 30-60/hr, RMB 50-100 (deposit). Roller-skating: RMB 5 (entrance), RMB 10 (skate rental).

Do not be confused the park with the Water Cube at the Olympic Village in Beijing. The Happy Magic Watercube, located on the far west side of the capital city, opened this summer.

Occupying an area of 33 hectares, the park claims to be the biggest water park in the world, with a maximum capacity of 30,000 people. It houses more than 50 waterslides and 18 attractions like "The Tornado" and the "Octopus Racer."

The park mixes up the traditional Chinese architectures with the modern American breath-taking water entertainment items and a European classical spa concept.

Take Line 1 on the subway to Yuquanlu Station and come out from Exit D2. Walk to the south to take bus No. 338 or 507 and get off at Meishikou Station.

The Yunju Temple Stone-Carved Scriptures Exhibition Hall is located in Yunju Temple, at the foot of Mount Baidai, in Fangshan District in the southwestern suburbs of Beijing, 70 kilometers from downtown. It is famous for its 14,278 stone slabs carved with the Buddhist scriptures known as the Tripitaka.

The stone-carved scriptures are imbued with great academic and cultural value. Their academic value lies in the fact that they are the best compilation of various versions of the Tripitaka, and of particular importance is the fact that the collection includes scriptures that have never been found in other versions of the Tripitaka. The cultural value of the scriptures lies in the skilful carving and beautiful calligraphy.

National Art Museum of China is located on Wu Si Street. It is a national level art museum focused on displaying, collecting and researching the works of the artists in China modern times. Chairman Mao Zedong wrote the name of the museum.

With 13 exhibition halls and a collection of 60,000 works, the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) is an excellent venue for an introduction to traditional Chinese artwork. Its exhibition program emphasizes and introducing China to Western artistic traditions, as well as exhibiting contemporary Chinese masters.

The Museum of Beijing Stone Inscription Art is located in the grounds of Five-Pagoda Temple, 200 meters north of Beijing Zoo. The Stone Inscription Museum, arranged on all four sides of the pagoda, is divided into six sections, namely: comprehensive stone inscription, tablets of merits and virtues, of epitaph, of calligraphy, of temples and guildhalls, and stone carvings.

In the comprehensive stone inscription area, there are two huge carved tables that were made for emperors Qianlong and Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty. The 12 tablets of merits and virtues applaud famous officials and nobility of the Ming and Qing dynasties for their good deeds and upright behavior.

In the epitaph section, there are 300 inscriptions on tombstones from the Tang to Qing dynasties that had been carved for imperial family members and high officials.

The tablets on calligraphy record works by famous calligraphers in the last two imperial dynasties, and those for temples and guildhalls collect inscriptions from provincial, industrial and commercial associations.

Lastly in the stone carving section are the Yuan Dynasty dragon and phoenix slabstones, as well as other statues from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

World Art Museum is hidden inside of the China Millennium Monument, a wonderful architectural splendor built to welcome the new millennium. World Art Museum provides a self-contained environment for high-level art exhibitions, with its modern displaying equipment and high-tech system integration progressing with the world.

Run by Gehua, a state-owned corporation committed to "the reform and development of China’s cultural industry," the World Art Museum typically hosts exhibitions of foreign classical art. The ongoing exhibitions include "Great World Civilizations," covering ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, India and the Americas, six ancient civilizations. It will end after 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The new exhibition info can be found at its website.

Prince Gong's Mansion is located near Shichahai Lake, to the northwest of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The private residence of He Shen, a favorite minister of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), was built in 1777. In 1851, the mansion was bestowed upon Prince Gong by Emperor Xianfeng (1851-1862), hence the name. It is the sole prince's mansion open to the public, and is the most well preserved mansion in Beijing.

Two stone lions guard the main gate, and magnificent buildings stand to the fore of the mansion, with an elegant garden at the rear. On the wall of the main hall hangs a plaque inscribed with three characters "Bao Guang Shi" in the calligraphy of Emperor Xianfeng. The buildings at the forefront of the mansion are on three axes, and apart from a two-story building consisting of ninety-nine and half rooms, all are in the traditional style. Duofu Study is on the eastern axis, and its structure is in the Ming style. On each of the two side axes are four courtyards, the second courtyard on the western axis being strikingly spacious. In the third courtyard, called Xijin Studio, there is a seven-roomed, exquisitely furnished hall. All the beams and pillars are made of nanmu, and its sandalwood partitions are reminiscent of those found in Ningshou Palace in the Forbidden City. Between the buildings and the rear garden there stands a 165-meter-long two-story building.

The garden in Prince Gong's Mansion is named Cuijin, meaning concentrated cream of the most beautiful flowers, and to this day it lives up to its name. The garden covers 28,000 square meters, and is surrounded by man-made hills on four sides. The main peak, constructed from Taihu rocks, is in the north. The garden has an arched stone gate in typical Western architectural style, and upon entering the garden, one can see the five-meter high Dule Peak, which is a rock procured from Lake Tai in southern China. Behind it is the Bat Pond (Bat is a homonym of happiness in Chinese). Beyond the pond stands the Anshan Hall and opposite, at the center of the garden, is a hill bearing a stone tablet inscribed with the Chinese character "fu" (happiness) in the calligraphy of Emperor Kangxi (1662-1723). Behind the hill are masterpieces of garden architecture, with more than 20 scenic spots. In addition to its artificial hill, trees, flowers, pavilions and terraces, the garden also contains the unique feature of its own theater. This theater is lofty and spacious, with subtle lighting, and on its walls Chinese wisteria and green leaves are painted, giving the audience the feeling they are sitting beneath trellises. The floor is paved in pseudo-gold brick, and the seats consist of old-fashioned wooden armchairs furnished with square tables. The performers and the audience are in close proximity, so there is no need for audio amplifying equipment. Here, people can enjoy kunqu, Peking Opera and imperial music, a unique experience full of Qing historical significance.

Featured Attractions: The Peking opera house inside the mansion not only stages Beijing opera performances, but also other prominent forms of Chinese opera as well. In August 2008, the Kunqu performance group from the "Jiangsu Kunqu House" performed at the Prince Gong Mansion for a week's run with their program Floating Dreams.

Most people traveling to Beijing must be hoping to experience the profound historical wonders of Beijing. That’s correct! However, traveling to Beijing can also be a wonderful experience of mountain camping. But where can you camp in Beijing? As far as I know, the perfect site is nothing more than Haituo Mountain, an area between Yanqing, Beijing and Hebei province.

Haituo Mountain is about 18 km away from the seat of Yanqing district and about 130 km away from downtown Beijing. The highest peak of the mountain is 2,241 meters, the second highest peak in Beijing. Why is it the perfect place for outdoor camping? The secret is the top of the mountain is a relatively large flat area, where nearly hundreds of tents can be set up. 

In summer, this area is about 10℃ cooler than the seat of Yanqing district and about 1,700 meters higher than the district seat, which has formed the various species of the plants all over the mountain. Areas above 1,800 meters are places where you can find high plateau grasslands. This is another reason why this is the perfect place for outdoor camping. In summer, parts of the mountain rain a lot and so the beautiful rain scenery can appear if you have the will to climb the mountain.

For people living and lodging in Beijing, this mountain also serves as a windbreak for Beijing, preventing the sandstorm from the north encroaching in Beijing. These days people visit the mountain frequently on weekends and spend cool summer nights on top of it. Our South Korean editor climbed the mountain on a weekend and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery of it by camping there to spend a cool summer night.

Nangong Tourist Attraction is known as China’s first geothermal village. It comprises of the construction of the new socialist village, scientific development and research, modern geothermal scientific education, spa fitness health, leisure and holiday entertainment, eco-contryside leisure, training, exhibitions and meetings, introducing a special sightseeing style within mountains, lakes, springs and village. It is as beautiful as a poem, a painting and a dream.

Featured Attractions:

Outdoor sports

There are a thrilling slide, wide lakes and the elegant ‘Hawaiian landscape’. Different kinds of outdoor sports are provided there, including football, basketball, beach volleyball, extreme sports and canoeing. TA north American style golf course is also available.

Hot spring

The hot well Nangong is located in the largest geothermal field in Beijing and there are almost 2,700 tons of hot water coming out from the well each day. It is good place for you to enjoy the hot spring.

Fitness health

Access to different kinds of hot springs is provided in the hot spring center. These include the meditation bath area, hydrotherapy area, moving hot spring area, and huolong bath area etc. you will not feel disappointed if you come and bathe at a hot spring.