The Temple of Xiannong is located on the west side of Beijing's central axis line and opposite the Temple of Heaven. It was built in the Ming Dynasty nearly 600 years ago.

Xiannong was the god of agriculture. At the beginning of the agricultural season every spring, emperors came to the temple and performed rituals to ensure a bountiful harvest.

The Temple of Xiannong is a typical temple complex of China's ritual architecture. Besides the God of Agriculture, there were some other gods such as the God of Mountains, Jupiter and Wind that were worshipped here. These deities are mostly gods of nature who might help with good harvests."

At the end of China's dynastic period, the Temple of Xiannong stopped serving as a place of worship and was used for several other functions. For almost 100 years, it served as a park, a market, a school and a factory, but its achitecture was well maintained.

Renovation of the temple started in the late 1980s, and it was opened to the public as the Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum in 1991. The major renovations were completed by 2003 and the main buildings were restored to their original appearances

Only a few visitors a day come to the Temple of Xiannong, quite a contrast to the hordes that crowd into the other four temples. But Xiannong's relative quietness lets them carefully appreciate the buildings and ancient culture.

As the altar of sacrificing the God of Agriculture, the temple complex has less adornments than other palaces in Beijing. Although it is not as magnificent as the Forbidden City, it is really decent and definitely worth a visit."

The museum hosts year-round architectural exhibitions with artifacts, photos of historical buildings and elaborate models on display. Professional architects and people interested in architecture come here often to learn about and admire China's ancient architecture.

The Temple of Xiannong is not just a place for appreciating the marvelous creativity of ancient people, but also a venue for educational and ex-curricular activities. It provides exhibitions and activities for youngsters to learn about China's history and architecture.

As a theme museum, the temple is not as well-known as the Temple of Heaven or the Forbidden City. But if you are fed up with the crowds and noise at the more popular temples and other sites, the Temple of Xiannong is undoubtedly a good place to visit. You can enjoy the peaceful atmosphere or just sit quietly in the courtyard and imagine what it was like here hundreds of years ago.

Hongluo Temple scenic spot covers an area of 8 square kilometers integrating the natural landscape with manmade features. It consists of two part: two scenic spots and three Buddhist areas.
    Two scenic spots refer to Hongluo Hill at the back of Hongluo Temple and Qinglong Hill to the east. Hongluo Hill, the natural barrier of the temple, has two peaks with an altitude of 813 meters. In spring you can enjoy bright-colored pediments and in autumn you can enjoy the red leaves all over the hill. In Qinglong Hill scenic spot there are maily ancient pines which boast an area of more than 1700 mu. Among which there are more than 10,000 ancient trees over 100 years old. It is one of the most important ancient trees group in Beijing. There are stone carvings of twelve annual animal signs and over 100 sets of stone tables and stone stools for tourists to have a rest in the ancient pinewoods. There the air is clear and fresh and the environment is quiet and tasteful. The air has a very high anion content. The gas emitted from the pines is good for people’s health. A saying goes around among the local people: If you stroll in the Arhat Valley once, all your disease will be removed. It is a good destination for tourists to keep healthy and relax themselves.
    Three Buddhist areas refers to Hongluo Temple , Boddhisattva Guanyin Temple and 500- Arhat Statues Garden. Hongluo Temple has a history of more than 1600 years. The temple was built at the foot of the mountain, facing to the south. Most buildings were built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There is a main hall built in 3 tiers (The Hall of Heavenly Guardians, Grand Bodhisattva Hall, There Sages Hall) and four side halls in the east and west.(Faith Hall, Thousand-armed Goddess of Mercy Hall, Yaoshi Hall, Damo Hall) Buddhisattva Guanyin Hall is located on the halfway up the mountain. It takes half an hour to get there along the path for the climbers. There are the Gate Hall, Boddhisattva Guanyin Hall, Five-hundred-arhat garden, covering an area of 20 mu, is located in the ancient pinewoods of Archat Valley east of the temple. The stone statue of Maitreya is the center of the five-hundred-arhat garden. The archats are carved out of life-size bluestones. Each archat has different lifelike expressions.
    Hongluo Temple has relatively good tourist facilities. The Bamboo Fragrant Restaurant and the restautrant in Hongluo Hill Resort can accommodate a banquet over 500 guests. Hongluo Hill Resort located in the pinewoods, with the architecture of siheyuan(compond with houses around courtyard) and Japanese style log cabin. There are over 200 beds of different grade, a gymnasium , a Karaoke lounge and conference rooms. In the morning, you can stroll in the pinewoods breathing in fresh air and fully enjoying the relaxation, comfort and romance far from the city.
 

Various coins from the history of China such as the earliest shell coins, the cloth coins, the grimace money, coins from every dynasty, paper money from the Kuomingtang-ruled era are on display here.

Take Bus No. 5、27、44、55、315、345、380、815、919 and get off at Dengshengmen stop. Or take the subway and get off at Jishuitan station

Taking TAXI to Beijing huan le gu

Heilongtan is a renowned sightseeing place in the suburb of Beijing. Its mostly famous for its gorgeous water falls. Heilongtan houses many water falls in different sizes, creating a spectacular view for this scenic spot.

Heilongtan is actually a mountain with lush plants, ragged and steep cliff and various forms of waterfalls. It’s a perfect place to visit in a hot summer day. There are some temples scattered on the mountain, but its not a typical place for temple viewing, as the temples there are outshone by the waterfalls. Besides, Heilongtan is a perfect place to have rafting, as sufficient waterfalls create many watercourse which are smooth and rough. It’s a fun ride by taking rafting to enjoy the view in Heilongtan.

Green Dragon Gorge Scenic Spot, perfect place for hot summer retreat, featuring scenic views and tranquil atmosphere. The Green Dragon Gorge nestles on the foot of a mountain, boasting lush plants and a large nice lake. The highlight of the Green Dragon Gorge is Wanglong Waterfall, a very large fall cascading from a steep cliff. The view is very spectacular with such a big fall. Besides, a pavilion next to the Wanglong Waterfall called Wangqin pavilion is also an interesting place to visit. The pavilion is a typical Qin dynasty establishment and by standing on the pavilion, you can enjoy a great bird view of the Wanglong Waterfall.

Song Qingling was the late honorary chairman of our country.  She was born on January 27th 1893 in Shanghai. She uphold the Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary ideas consistently. And they got married  in 1915. Song Qingling was called " Mother of the Nation". She was also praised as one of the greatest ladies in the new China.

Chairman Song moved to this courtyard since 1963. Originally, it was the garden of Prince Chun's Mansion in the late Qing Dynasty.  Prince Chun is the father of the last emperor Puyi. Puyi was born here. He was chosen as the emperor when he was 3 years old.

It's a very quiet and beautiful countyard surrounded by a small lake. Now, Song Qingling's fomer Residence is  opened as exhibition halls for  the historical pictures, the photos of Song Qingling and her husband Dr. Sun Yat-sun, the forerunner of chinese revolution, even the cultural relics.

Take Bus No.44 or No.5 to Deshengmen.

The Marco Polo Bridge is the most ancient White Marble Bridge in Beijing. Maybe you heard about the famous traveller Marco Polo, but you never heard about the Marco Polo Bridge. In the diary of Marco Polo noted:"Over this river there is a very fine stone bridge, so fine indeed, that it has very few equals in the world." He was the first western person recorded this bridge. That's why it is named Marco Polo Bridge in English.

The Bridge is located 15 kilometers southwest of Beijing. Chinese name is Lugou Bridge. It was first built during the Jin Dynasty almost 1000 years ago. There are two rows of carved white marble balustrades , and decorated with carved figures of lions on the top. The people of Beijing have a popular saying :"the lions of the Lugou Bridge are too numerous to count." Some people counted there are 485 lions on the bridge, some people sai there are 496 lions. But the government counted in 1979 again. There are 502 lions totally? Oh, How many lions on the Marco Polo Bridge? You should come to check by yourself. Remember, no one is the same for the vivid lions. They are all with different posture or brow.

Take bus No.983, No.739, No.971 or No.661