The original name of Shenglianshan scenic area was Shengmishitang, and it is one of Beijing's top eight scenic attractions. Atop of the hill, there are several attraction sites, including the well-known Taoist temple, the Pantao Palace, the Buddhist temple--the Shengquan Temple, and villas. Spring water from the naturally formed karst cave--the Shengshui Cave--never ceases to gush out all year round. Half way up the cliff and slope, there is a four-meter-high statue called the Shengmu Statue, which is still well-preserved after some 100 years. Shenglian Mountain is 930 meters above sea level, and is a tourist and sightseeing attraction with both historical and cultural heritages and natural landscapes.

Think of it as the Stratford-upon-Avon of China. Cao Xueqin wrote the fourth and final of China's four classic novels, Dream of the Red Chamber, also occasionally translated as A Dream of Red Mansions or Story of the Stone. Cao was born into a Manchurian noble family (although the family was ethnically Han) that over time fell into decline. In his novel, Cao traces the amorous adventures of Jia Baoyu and his two love interests, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. Over the course of the novel, the Jia family suffers a similar fate as Cao's. An entire sub-school of Chinese literature, dubbed "Redology," picks apart the text and its various inconsistencies in the same way that Shakespearean works are constantly read, analyzed and dissected.

Cao was originally from Nanjing but settled in Beijing after his family's decline. The house is neither red nor a mansion. For one interpretation of the novel's courtyards, visit Grand View Garden in Xuanwu District.

Yunju Temple is a famous ancient Buddhist temple located among the high mountain ridges in the suburbs of Beijing. The temple was first built in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) by the eminent monk Jingwan from the Zhiquan Temple in Youzhou. At that time, there were a lot of monks and Buddhists in the temple, and all the halls were very magnificent and imposing with the forest of stone dagobas, making the temple very famous at that time.

Originally all the halls were arranged in six courtyards with the middle, south and north routes. On the middle route stood the main hall of the temple, and on the south and north routes, the guesthouses and the temporary residence courtyards. Two towers of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) stood by the side of the temple. During the Anti-Japanese War in modern time, the whole temple was destroyed except the North Tower of the Liao Dynasty and four towers built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Featured Attraction: The North Tower, also called the Arhat Pagoda, is a brick dagoba of Buddhist relics built in the Liao Dynasty. Its construction started during the Tianqing reign (1111-1120) of the Liao Dynasty. The body of the dagoba combined three different architectural forms and formed a very unique shape. The bottom of the pagoda is an octagonal pedestal, on which sits a two-story brick pavilion-styled pagoda. All the four Tang pagodas are marked with the specific time of construction. The plane layout of the pagoda is a square of 7 layers. The body of the pagoda is carved with various Buddhist images, among which is the image of a foreign donator with deep eyes and high nose carved on the interior wall of the stone pagoda built in the 15th year (727) of the Kaiyuan reign of the Tang Dynasty. The clothing of the carving is quite brilliant with smooth strokes, reflecting the booming cultural exchange with foreign countries during the most prosperous Tang Dynasty.

The Nine Stone-Carved Sutra storage caves are located on the sutra hill to the northeast of the temple, where hide 4,195 pieces of scripture stone carvings carved during the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907) and at the end of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Among them, the most famous one -- the Leiyin Cave -- houses four stone columns, each of which has several hundred basso-relievo small josses, and the josses on the four columns total over one thousand, so they are also called as thousand Buddha columns. 146 flagstones with scriptures carved by the eminent monk Jingwan of the Sui Dynasty, who built the Yunju Temple, are kept in the cave and all of them are mounted on the walls of the cave.

Besides the nine caves, another sutra-storage cave was found in 1956 near the south pagoda, and 10,082 flagstones carved with 3,400 volumes of scriptures were excavated, making it the biggest extant storage place for stone-carved Buddhist Sutras in China. Since the stone-carved Sutras are original and have very few errors, they are very important and valuable for correcting errors in other editions. They are also very precious materials for the research into the history of Chinese Buddhism, arts, and architecture as well as the social politics, economics, culture and folk customs.

Beijing Jie Tai Temple includes Sanxian Hall, Qinafo Hall and Jiuxian Hall. Surrounding these halls are rock formations and ancient ornaments and trees. The most common species are cypress, pine and Japanese pagoda trees. The temple also has a 250-year old lilac bush. Another famous tree is Nine Dragon that looks like a flying dragon as its nine branches twist upwards. Other trees that surround Jietai Temple have been given unique names like Leisure Pine or Zi Zan, Sleeping Dragon or Wo Long, and Embracing Pagoda or Bao Ta. A mysterious tree called Trembling Pine or Hou Dong is said to tremble when only one branch is touched. These ancient trees are top attractions for both domestic and foreign tourists. These trees actually made the temple very popular. These old trees are considered to be protectors of Buddhism. There is a total of 88 national ancient trees preserved all over the temple.

At the Ordination Altar there is a three-story wooden altar in the main hall. There are steps connecting the lower and the upper sections. The finely carved image of Buddha that measures a little less than one hundred feet in height covers a wall in the compound’s northwest section where the Hall of a Thousand Buddhas stands. Visitors can also find a Jin Dynasty stela and a Liao Dynasty stupa. Additionally, there are many stone pillars carved with Buddhist sutra texts that are preserved in almost perfect condition. Ceremonies are conducted at the ordination altar to commemorate the ascension of devotees to monkhood.

Jietai Temple Religious Activities: Lucky tourists can witness religious activities at the temple that are usually held the first and 15th day of every month in the lunar calendar. They call these religious activities Buddhist Days. This has been permitted by the government since 1997.

Outside Jietai Temple: On the other hand, people who are not fond of temples may simply enjoy the beauty of Jietai Temple from the outside. There are abundant mystic natural views and colorful customs. Tourists can take pictures of the smaller hall houses with stunning small wooden altars. They are decorated with dragons.

Forty-five kilometers west of Beijing, Tanzhe Temple is the largest and oldest temple in Beijing, whose history can date back to the Jin Dynasty, over 1,700 years ago. It is widely believed among the locals that Tanzhe Temple was constructed earlier than the city of Beijing. Behind the temple there is a deep pond called the Dragon Pond and in front of the temple there grow some Zhe trees, therefore the temple is called Tan ("tan" means a deep pond) Zhe Temple.

Featured Attraction: The temple is divided into three parts. The central part is filled with splendid structures like archways, mountain gates, altars and Buddhist Halls. A 200-year old purple yulan growing in the temple is noted as the largest in north of China. When the Yulan blossoms early in spring, numerous people flock here to view the pretty and fragrant flowers. Among the bushes, two high ginkgo trees were entitled by Emperor Qianlong the "Tree of Monarch" and the "Tree of Princess". The eastern part of the temple contains a dozens of courtyards where the abbot room is included and the rooms where the emperor used to stay are preserved.

Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park, located in the West Mountain scenic area of Beijing, occupies an area of more than 330,000 square meters. Here in the park, the scenery is beautiful and elegant. Among the lush pines and cypresses and vibrant lawn, the Gothic Cinderella Castle, the Arabic-style restaurant, the European-style blue bridge and the Russian-style gate add exotic atmosphere to the park. Huge amusement facilities like the launch tower, the roller coaster, gorge rafting and rocket-style bungee jumping entertain every visitor and bring much joy and enjoyment to the visitors.

Featured Attractions:

In the eastern part of the park, there are facilities for such sports events as rally cars, formula cars, desert race cars and various imported small racing cars. Walking over the bridge, a modern building unfolds in front you - the 4D Flying, the large theme entertainment project which is the first class in the world and the largest in Asia. It takes you to fly and to experience the effects of flying, crossing the canyon, experiencing the wind, rain and fog, bringing you thriller experiences.

In the western part of the park, a colorful and fun recreation and entertainment garden is ready to serve all visitors. The roller coaster brings much thrilling experiences to visitors by hoverng and diving; the Ferris wheels helps unfold a picture of the modern metropolis; the waving chair brings an experience of the high sea. In addition, there are also recreation facilities much loved by the children, such as Star War, magic mirror labyrinth, bumper cars, magic castle and the royal merry-go-around. The facilities such as warrior turnplate, the octopus, the Harry's adventure, the rotating plate, the love express and the super swing are all in the family of rotating recreation items. The UFO bicycle, the flier and rocket bungee are the activities for the brave hearts. The facilities such as crazy mouse, the Jones' adventure and the snail-climbing recreation activities are either thrilling or fun. The Shenzhou roller coaster located in the southwestern part of the park is the longest suspension roller coaster in Asia. In the roller coaster facilities, the cars and the bearing facilities are all suspended outside the closed tracks, giving a thrilling experience that visitors might have never experienced before.

Take subway line one to Bajiao Youleyuan

Take bus No. 318, 325, 327, 337, 354, 472, 527, 545, 597, 598, 663, 941, 958, 959, 977 zhi to the park.

Situated in Fengtai District, Beijing Garden of World's Flowers is the largest botanical garden within the capital's Fourth Ring Road. It covers an area of more than 40 hectares and has been awarded top marks as a tourist attraction.

Featured Attractions: The garden opened in 2005 and offers 15 large greenhouses where you can enjoy a range of exotic flowers, plants and herbs in varying landscapes. The site offers a combination of sight-seeing, science, shopping and dining. There are outdoor gardens too, such as the Japanese Garden, Dutch Garden and Austrian Garden, but they have yet to bloom and blossom. So, while it's still cold it is best to enjoy the indoor gardens, where you can enjoy a range of gardens, including traditional Chinese landscapes that feature reconstructions of temples and palaces that still stand today in various provinces of the Middle Kingdom. You can also view a desert landscape with various cacti; there is also a hall of tropical plants where you can see banana trees and palm trees. And, there is a stunning selection of bonsai trees and gorgeous array of flowers.

South fourth ring: take bus No. 646, 377, 556 to the park.

Take bus No. 736, 740, 996, te 9 to Lianrijiayuan station and go towards the west for 300 meters.

Take subway line 4 to Gongyixiaqiao station and transfer to bus No. 646 to the park.

Jingkai Road: take bus No. 474, 410, 423, 434, 483, 381, 937, 977, 993, 631, te3, 529, 454, 676, 497 to Majialou station.

Beigong Forest Park is in Changxindian town of Fengtai District. Similar to Xiangshan Park, it is another place for local residents to view red leaves and natural beauty. Every autumn, the 1,800 hectares of Beigong Forest Park are covered with colorful leaves.

Hulu Lake in the center and the colorful leaves create a natural watercolor painting image. Beigong Forest Park demonstrates different sceneries during each season, so is a good choice for foreign visitors.

Featured Attraction: Tourists can play at the water park, which is full of southern China characteristics, and pick fruit at the park. It is a good place to exercise, pick fruit, and spend your vacation.

Beijing World Park is a miniature of the world with the five continents represented and located inside following the patterns of how they exist on earth. Here you can see 109 world-famous attractions from 40 countries.

The attractions like the Egyptian Pyramids, Eiffel Tower, Norte Dame, the White House, Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial, the Sydney Opera Theater and some Italian or Japanese styles gardens are scattered around. Here you can also see hundreds of statues like the the Statue of Liberty, the Manneken Pis, the Mermaid, the Statue of David, the statue of Venus, the statue of Chopin and the statue of Mozart. All statues are vividly crafted and bear exact resemblance to the heroes they are depicting.

Featured Attractions: The park can be separated into two parts: the scenic area and the entertainment area. The scenic area in miniature is displayed according to the position of its country on the map, along with shopping, dining and entertainment areas. The entertainment area is situated in an international folk village characterized by buildings in the American and European styles. The park also has a fountain operated by laser beams, a plant maze and a fairyland in which children and adults alike can enjoy themselves. Regular international parades of folklore are planned to provide the tourist with a chance to view folk customs from different countries.

Take bus te7, 959, 937, 967, 913, 944, 692 to World Park

Take Subway Line 9 to World Park station

Fenghuangling Nature Park is a well-conserved ecological area. Beautiful natural scenery and historical relics together form this park. With the green hills, limpid water, clean air and proper air humidity, it is reputed as the lung of Beijing, together with the Little Huangshan Mountain, west of Beijing. Meanwhile, the park has colorful cultural sites. There are numerous sites of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and remains of the health preserving culture of ancient China. These cultural sites are very compatible with scenic spots.

Featured Attraction: To visit Fenghuangling, three routes are recommended: the north route, middle route and the south route.

The north route features a prominent density of scenic spots. The main sights along this route are the Physiognomy of Sea Cliff, the Geyi Nunnery, the Shangfang Temple, the Linglong Pagoda, the Feilai Stone Tower and the Moya Stone Tower, the Kwan-yin Cave, the Xiuxian Cave, the Cangzhen Cave, the Old Ape Cave, the Almighty Fountain, the Yijing Pond, the Water-dropping Rock, the Cetacean Back and the Golden Dragon Pool. The famous Tianti (ladder that leads to heaven) can also be seen on this route.

The middle route starts at the Longquan Temple (Dragon Spring Temple), which was built in the Liao Dynasty. Walking along the mountain, visitors can see the Immortal Cave, the Three-Buddha Cave, the Xuanyuan Cave and the Xiuxianyi. These four historic remains combine to form the largest and the most complete cave group for health preservation. Visitors can see other sights like the White Pagoda Reservoir, the Shadow Pavilion (legend claims that it was a place for the immortals to play chess) and Stone Carving of Fenghuangling (the biggest in Beijing).

The south route is a natural line with few man-made sites. Huangpu Yard, Guandi Temple and Lvzu Cave develop a triangle zone, which has rich religious cultures. Besides, there are many mysteries that are ongoing, for example, the mysteries of Jingangshi (crystals) Tower and Stone Buddha in Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). In addition, visitors can enjoy relaxation in Cheerying village, which now has taken shape as a place of folk custom tourism.