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.

Beijng Yanqing Landscape Scenic Area is located in Qianjiadian Town, just north of Yanqing District. It is a core region of the Yanqing Ecological Area. In 2007, it was named the best area for touring Beijing by car. The whole scenic area is divided into six parts: The Wulong Gorge area, the Water Drop Kettle area, the Woodstone area, the Chaoyang temple, the Longwang Temple and the Guanyu Temple. The Wulong Gorge Area is comprised of Mesozoic lava and is scenically typical of a Mountain View or river valley landscape. In the middle part of the Yanqing Landscape Scenic Area and the Wood stone area, some trees and numerous stones can be found. It is reported that the trees date back to the Jurassic Period. Most of the trees are cypresses and pines. The Wood stone area is the biggest historic area of its kind in Hebei Province. Welcome everyone to this scenic area and enjoy your tour!

Featured Attractions: Petrified Wood National Geologic Park lies at the banks of Bai River, Yanqing District. Covering about 226 square kilometers (about 87 sq mi), the park has about 780 species of plants and 180 species of vertebrates. The geologic park is characterized by its Jurassic petrified wood of 0.14-0.18 billion years. The park is divided into five scenic areas: Fossil Wood Area, Dropping-Water Pot Scenic Area (Dishuihu Scenic Area), Wulong Gorge, Yanshan Heavenly Pool and Yunlong Mountain, which includes 25 scenic spots. Badaling Wild Animal Zoo is located at the foot of the well-known Badaling Great Wall. Covering an area of over 1.54 sq mi, this zoo has nearly 10,000 wild animals, including African lions, white tigers, Siberian tigers, brown bears, sun bears and kangaroos. The park has five functional zones: animal visiting zone, mountain forest sightseeing zone, environmental reserve zone and entertainment zone. Here, tourists can not only watch the wild animals, but sometimes, may even have their pictures taken with the animals.

Annual Festivals Yanqing Apricot Blossom Festival: April 1st - middle May Planting Festival: later March - later May Mountain Climbing Festival: April 1st - later May Summer Escape Festival: June 18th - September 18th Golden Spring Picking Festival: September - November Ice & Snow Tourism Festival: January 1st - later February

Badaling Shuiguan Great Wall is located in the Yanqing District of Beijing, just 1.24 miles away from the Badaling Great Wall. The Shuiguan Great Wall was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). It is the most complete and strongest section of the ten thousand li Great Wall and famous for its precipitous cliffs.

Originally, the wall was part of an ancient military defensive work. The water system was employed to defend against enemies and formed a pass, hence the name 'Shuiguan', when translated is the 'Water Pass'. The wall was built along the mountain contours with stone blocks and grey bricks. There are seven watch towers and one arrow tower. The arrow tower measures 15.63 meters (51 feet) high with an average width of 12 meters (13 yards). The wall was open to the public in 1995 after repair. Besides climbing the wall, you can also visit the Genghis Khan Palace, the Stone Buddha Temple, Luotuo Peak (Camel Peak) and the Great Wall Stele Forest nearby.

Featured Attractions:

Golden Fish Pool: The old site of Golden Fish Pool is located below the roadbed about 50m (55 yards) to the southern mouth of Tanqin Gorge Tunnel. There was once a pond where a big golden fish lived in. According to the folk tale, during the drought days, when the locals stirred the water in the pond, it would immediately begin to rain. It was highly efficacious. At last, the pool was dried and the golden fish was disappeared. In the 1980s, in order to reproduce this beautiful pool, people built a square pool on the old site of it, and moved the stone carvings of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) to the front of the pool.

In winter, Longqing Gorge is a famous site for ice lanterns, and in summer, it turns into a hot spot for water cruise between the undulating mountains. Some have compared this gorge to the Three Gorges on Yangtze River, and even think the gorge looks more magnificent. The water here is so transparent that tourists believe these waters are even cleaner than those of Lijiang River in Guilin, Guangxi province.

This may not be necessarily true but has partially explained the beautiful scenery of this gorge. The characteristics of it are that visitors can clearly experience the softness and charms of the mountains and rivers in southern China and can also touch the vigor, magnificence and sturdiness of northern China.

Getting on a boat to tour Longqing Gorge is like slowly unfolding a scroll of landscape painting. You may immediately fall into the hallucination that you are cruising on Lijiang River and all around you is nothing but an extremely gorgeous scroll painting which has become alive.

Located in Jugezhuang Town in Miyun District of Beijing, the Changyu Wine Chateau is a resort that offers numerous amenities to choose from while on vacation. Established in 2005, it is a holiday resort that is perhaps best known for its wine, culture, ecological tourism, and for its amenities which offer relaxation.

Grapes and wine making are the specialty of this chateau. Upon a visit to the Chateau, one may learn the art of grape picking for wine making and will be able to experience how to make wine from scratch. You will gain the knowledge of a different culture all together, so the experience will not only be fun, but will also be an educational one. The Changyu Wine Chateau is a resort that offers many activities for guests to choose from. Have fun while you are there, whether swimming or relaxing at the spa. You may even want to extend your stay while you visit for the first time.

Featured Attractions: The AFIP Castle is a three-story building with one basement for the cellar. The first floor is designed for showcasing the Chang Yu Wines and Changyu wine production line. The second floor is for the museum introducing the history and development of Yantai Changyu Group co., Ltd. The third floor is for wine tasting and features meeting rooms.

Taoyuan Xiangu Scenic Area is a national 4A scenic zone and an ecological tourist and scenery area. Located 90 kilometers from downtown Beijing, it is 8-kilometer-long from the western bank of the Miyun Reservoir in the east and to the top of the Guanfengtai Peak in the west covering a total area 16 square kilometers.

In the valleys of the scenic zone, the forests are lush, the mountain peaks are high and steep, there are numerous ponds and waterfalls, and the most well-known ones are one of the lakes, and 6 waterfalls and 13 ponds. In the winter, it becomes a wonderland of snow and ice, with more than 80 tourist attractions dotted in this wonderland, which constitutes a corridor of natural landscape likes a land of idyllic beauty.

Taoyuan Lake: The capacity of the lake is 50,000 cubic meters and the area of the lake is 14, 000 square meters. The average depth is 8 meters and the deepest is 12 meters.

Long Tan Park occupies a total area of 49.2 hectares. Approximately 19.47 hectares of this land mass is covered by water. The scenic spots alternate with each other along the lake and the lake from the water is well known as one of the freshest areas to find water in the city.

The park is also divided into six scenic areas. Long Yin Pavilion Scenic Area is the unique pavilion in the Northern parks. Long Tan Scenic Area is composed of fourteen hillside areas. Letter-Dragon and Stone Forest Scenic Area is teeming with natural scenic spots and notable fixtures made of stone. The area's uniqueness comes from a history of famous calligraphers who penned many letters here and deliberated over their meanings. The story entitled Dragon written by famous calligraphers of the Qin and Han Dynasties, suggests that the area will always be a significant part of that time period and Dynasty. One can easily find a pond full of Lotus afloat across the lake from July to August of every year. Behind the Lotus Pond lies a Flower Island Scenic Area. Another area, the Dragon Gate Scenic Area, actually shares the starting point with the water-entrance of the Park. Upon entering, Dragon heads, made from stone, make an immediate impression upon those entering. It is easy to admire these fixtures as each structure allows fresh lake water to flow from the mouths of the dragon’s facade. Surrounding the lake are rare stones that add a rare and unique essence to the area. It is truly an area that integrates culture and history together with beautiful artwork.

Featured Attractions: Longtan Park is home to a number of minor features, most of which bear a recurring dragon motif. It is said that there are as many as 100 carved dragons scattered around the park, including the Dragon Gate, Green Dragon Bridge, and the Flying Dragon Pavilion, to name but a few. There are a series of simple maps dotted around the lake, indicating the locations of the various things to see. Each year in early February, the park will hold a Spring Festival Temple Fair. This large-scale event offers snack stalls, a range of interactive activities such as arm wrestling and chess playing, as well as amusements for children.

Located 8 km north of Huairou District is Yanqi Lake. Yanqi Lake is a beautiful scenic site at the foot of Yanshan Mountain. The Great Wall is to the north of the lake, and to the south is the boundless North China plain. The landscape of the area is beautiful. In the background, one can see the great mountain, in the foreground there is the clear water of the lake coupled with refreshing air.

In the spring and in the autumn, flocks of rare migrant birds, especially geese, inhabit the area, which forms part of the inspiration for the name -- Yanqi Lake, which translates literally as "Swan Lake." The scenic zone is equipped with various items of aquatic recreation, such as dragon boats, speedboats, jet skis and an aquatic para-glider. This ideal vacation site draws multitudes of tourists every year.

Featured Attractions: It is equipped with diversified items of aquatic recreation activities, such as large and luxurious ships, motorized dragon boats, speedboats, rowing boats, foot peddled boats, arrow shooting and bungee rocker, etc. Parachuting over the lake and driving aquatic motorcycle are items well-received by visitors. Tourists can enjoy much pleasure. Tourists can choose to make use of the recreational auto field, the vacationing cabins, aquatic slides, space ship, etc. The ground by the Lake provides tourists with pleasures or returning to Nature. In the summer, green shades cover the lakeside and cool breeze blows lightly over surface of the sound controlled colored fountain and unique water screen movie. They can enjoy themselves with soft music and graceful dance in the open air as well. The paradise has perfect service installations. It is an ideal vacationing site with convenient services.