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.

Located in Haidian District, Yuyuantan Park (玉渊潭公园 Jade Lake Park) is easily accessible, with the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse to its eastern gate, China Central Radio and Television Tower to its west, Navy General Hospital to its north and China Millennium Monument to its south.

With 1,820 meters (1.13 miles) wide from west to east and 1,106 meters (0.69 miles) long from north to south, Yuyuantan Park covers an area of 136.69 hectares and the water surface spans an area of 61 hectares. Back in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), Yuyuantan Park was already a famous scenic spot.

Featured Attractions:

Cherry Garden: Located to the northwest of the park, Cherry Garden is famous for its cherry blossoms. In the spring of 1973, 180 cherry trees were sent as gifts from Japan and were planted in the garden. Later on, more and more cherry trees were cultivated here. Today the garden has been the home for over 3,000 cherry trees. When cherry trees blossom in early spring (from late March to early April), tourists pour into the garden to enjoy the beautiful flowers. Metasequoias and bamboos flourish in the garden making Cherry Garden a wonderful place even when cherry blossoms are not in bloom.

Liuchun Garden: Built in 1983, Liuchun Garden ("Liuchun" means to let the spring stay) sits to the east of Yuyuantan Park. Every spring, forsythias, magnolias, roses, crab-apple trees and other plants blossom one after another like a perpetual spring in the garden. Inside the south entrance of Liuchun Garden, you will see a screen wall. Paintings on it are depicted by porcelain pieces. The three front pictures respectively portray a new-born baby in his mother’s embrace, a girl dancing with a swan, and a youngster pursuing knowledge, whilst three pictures designed for children are painted on the back of the wall. From a pavilion in the southwest corner of Liuchun Garden, you can enjoy a distant view of the whole garden.

Zhongshan Island: Zhongshan Island is located to the southwest of Yuyuantan Park. Spanning 800 meters (875 yards) long and 30 meters (33 yards) wide, Zhongshan Island is actually a small hill lying between Bayi Lake and West Lake. A pavilion with a double-tiered roof is built on the hill, from which the full view of Zhongshan Island and the lakes can be seen. Yinshui Lake Scenic Area is situated to the northeast of Yuyuantan Park. Pine trees, gingko trees, poplar trees, crab-apples and other plants are scattered in the area. You can also go fishing in this area.

Ancient Pine Forest: Near the south gate of Yuyuantan Park, there is an ancient pine forest. The trees were planted in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and are over 100 years old.

To the west gate: take bus No. 300, 323, 374 or Te 8 and get off at Bayi Lake North Station or Fuchenglu Station

To the south gate: take Subway Line 1 and get off at Military Museum Station and enter from the northern side of the China Millennium Monument

To the north gate: take bus No. 37, 121 or 846 and get off at Mashenmiao Station or Baiduizi Station

Purple Bamboo Park is one of the seven largest parks in Beijing and is located at the southern end of Baishiqiao Road. It was first built in 1953 and is famous for the temples of the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty located northwest of the park.

The lake covers one third of the park. Nanchang river and shuangzi canal run through the park, forming the situation of three lakes, two islands, a river and a canal. It is a natural mountain and water park that makes the bamboo an attraction.

Featured Attraction: The park pursues the natural character by imitating the mountain and water. The stones are laid in delicately. Looking at the park from a high elevation, it is like a picture, making people feel at ease and relaxed. In the middle of the park, there are Bayixuan and Zhuyunjingshi on the qinglian island, wenyue building and xiaoshengzuiyue on the mingyue island. There are fuyin zizhuyuan, kuahaidongzheng and zizhu chuidiao on the west of the park. At the north of the chang river, there is a South-China-garden-featured Yunshiyuan, Qinglianganxiu, jiangnanzhuyun, zhushenhejing and lvyunxuan etc.

East Gate: Bus No. Te 4, Te 6, 86, 105, 106, Yuntong 205, 319, 320, 332, 563, 608, 614, 645, 653, 689, 695, 697, 717
South Gate: Bus No. 334, 347, 360, 482, Te 5
West Gate: Tke Bus No. Te 5, Te 8, 74, 300, 323, 362, 347, 394,482, 534, 617, 620, 658, 699, 944, 967,968

Located to the west of Xisanhuan Middle Road, it is close to Yuyuantan Park and Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Construction began in January 1987. In 1994, the project was completed and it was opened to the public on October 1st of the same year.

Taking up an area of 15.4 hectares, it reaches 386.5 meters tall (1,268 feet, or 1,329 feet, if the lightning rod is counted). Its base covers an area of 12,143 sq meters (14,523 sq yards). The square, the surrounding verandah, the foundation, the pedestal, the body, the turret, and the mast together constitute it. Its pedestal imitates double-tiered roofs of ancient Chinese palaces, while its turret (689 feet above the ground) looks like a big palace lantern. When colored lights glow at night, it is like a giant lantern.

Featured Attractions:

Stone carved painting in the east hall: On the first floor, a gigantic stone carving is hanging on the wall of the East Hall, with 20 meters (22 yards) long, 8.7 meters (9.5 yards) wide and an area of 171.4 sq meters (205 sq yards). In the carving, you can see China's most distinctive mountains and rivers.

The Hall: Inside the hall, visitors can visit the revolving restaurant, indoor viewing hall, open-air sightseeing platform, and Liuyun (white cloud) Hall, each on different floors.

The revolving restaurant on the eighteenth floor can admit 250 people and features Chinese and Western-style buffets. It takes 80 minutes to make a full rotation. Visitors can enjoy the cuisine while viewing the city sights.

The indoor viewing hall is on the nineteenth floor.

The highest post office in Beijing is in this hall. You can buy postcards from the office and mail them with the postmark of the in-the-air post office.

The open-air sightseeing platform on the twenty-second floor is 238 meters (781 feet) above the ground, and is believed to be the biggest one of its kind all over the world. Chang'an Avenue, the Summer Palace, and other places can be seen clearly from the platform. Liuyun Hall on the twenty–third floor is the venue of celebrations and recreational activities.

Taipingyang Underwater World Exhibition: This ocean park, constructed at its base, is the home of hundreds of marine creatures. After visiting it, you can also have fun here.

Take Bus No. 40, 64, 74, 77,323, 368, 374, 394, 437, 617, 624, 631, 631 Kuai, 658, 944, 968, 977, Te 8, Yuntong 102 ,Yuntong 103, Yuntong 108, Yuntong 201 to Hangtianqiaonan station

Take Subway Line 1 to Gongzhufen Station and continue north towards Bayi Lake.

The Beijing Botanical Garden was founded in 1956 with financial support from the central government.

The Beijing Botanical Garden is located at the foot of the far Western Hill in the Haidian District. It is northwest of downtown Beijing and covers an area of 400 hectares It is known as the largest botanical garden in North China. The garden displays a variety of rare trees and stunning flowers. As well, it also houses a number of historical attractions. The plant conservatory, which in some ways resembles a crystal palace, lies at the center of the garden. The greenhouse is the largest one in Asia, and exhibits thousands of tropical and subtropical plants. There are areas designated for various trees and flowering plants. Eleven themed gardens form a spectacular sight within the garden, which features the rose, peony, lilac, bamboo, magnolia, bonsai, prunus mume flower, perennial flowers, herbaceous peony, ornamental peach and numerous other Chinese flowers.

Featured Attractions:

Conservatory: The main Conservatory, one of the biggest projects in Beijing, was setup in 1999 with an area of 6,500 square meters for display. There are a total of 3,000 taxa plants grown in crystal sections, including rainforest house, cacti & succulent house, orchid &carnivorous house, alpine house, foliage plant house and flower show house. The features of the rainforest are displayed in the tropical rainforest house, such as the plank buttress roots, dripping-tip leaves, cauline flowers, and etc. The diversity of epiphytes and carnivorous plants arrests children's and even parents' eyes in the orchid &carnivorous house. More than 1,000 species of cacti and succulents are collected in their house. It makes you feel like walking on an Arizona or Africa pathway. So, the conservatory is a very important site for the education of botany and conservation of plant resources.

Penjing garden: Penjing (Bonsai) is an ancient tradition art in China. Its long history can be traced back to 1,900 years ago. The Penjing garden is an attractive exhibition in the Beijing Botanical Garden. Most Penjing works come from different parts of China with distinct styles.

There are also outdoor miniature trees over 100 years old in the garden. A ginkgo tree is now more than 1,300 years old. The garden provides visitors with an elegant place to study the Penjing art, appreciate and exchange the works. Historic Site Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall, the Tomb of Liang Qichao, the Temple of the Sleeping Buddha and the December 9th Pavilion can also be seen there. The Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall depicts a vivid scene of mountainous villages of China. The Tomb of Liang Qichao, a famous reformist in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), lies beyond the wooded area of the garden. The Temple of the Sleeping Buddha was constructed early in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) when a huge copper Sakyamuni statue, together with twelve smaller Buddha figurines was regarded as sacred. The December 9th Pavilion is built in memory of the December 9th Movement, which took place in 1935 and called for an end to the civil war and resistance towards the Japanese aggressors.

It's owned by Ms. Chan Lai Wah, who is a CPPCC member, chairlady of Fuwah International Hong Kong, honorary humanity doctor and director of the college directorate of the Savannah College of Art and Design in America. The total investment is over 200 million RMB. It's a gift project for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. It's the first and largest private museum in China specialized in collecting, researching and displaying red sandalwood works of art and connoisseurship of classical furniture, which fills a vacancy in the field of Chinese museums.

The exhibition room covers an area of 10,000 square meters. Here you will touch the essence of red sandalwood culture. The corner tower of the Palace Museum and the Qianqiu Pavilion in the imperial garden assume an imperial air. 320 dragons carved in the Longquan Temple in Shanxi Province are in different postures. The delicate Beijing quadrangles and the Feiyun Building in Shanxi Province are representatives of red sandalwood arts. They are all artistic treasures in the Orient made of red sandalwood. Numerous basso-relievo, sculpture-in-the-rounds, and fretworks give full display to the charms of red sandalwood.

Sandalwood is called the red wood because of its color. Its texture is hard, which makes it excellent material for making furniture. Here, the furniture made in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, traditional furniture materials, designs, and structures give a brand-new interpretation of the meaning of furniture.

Featured Attractions:

If you come to Beijing without visiting this "Red Sandalwood Temple", it will be a great pity, just as what Mr. Zhu Jiajing, a master appraiser of cultural relic, once told one of his friends from England.

The Ming City Walls Ruins Park (明城墙遗址公园) is one of the best parks in Beijing. It is located 3 kilometers from the center of the city, between the southeast turret and Chongwen Gate (崇文门) in the west. It is a scenic spot of ancient architectural relic. It was open to the public in 2002.

The Ming City Wall, first built over 580 years ago, in 1419, or the 17th year of Emperor Yongle (永乐)'s reign in the Ming Dynasty, used to run about 40 kilometers. The remaining relic, which is about 1.5 kilometers long, used to be part of the inner city wall of Beijing. It is the longest section of the city wall remains in the city, and an important symbol of Beijing. Topped with saplings, trees and a healthy head of vegetation, the last surviving slice of the Ming Inner City Wall (originally 40km in length) runs along the length of the northern flank of Chongwenmen Dongdajie (东大街), attached to a slender and pleasant strip of park. Leveled in the 1950s to facilitate transport and compromise the legacies of earlier dynasties, the city wall is perhaps Beijing's most conspicuous chunk of lost heritage.

Featured Attractions: In 2003 the park underwent stage II landscaping, which added more variety to the plants. Over 300 arbors and shrubs, such as ginkgos, peaches, apricots, crape myrtles, golden rain trees, magnolias, and over 100,000 flowers (such as marigolds and morning glories) and perennial-root flowers (such as fleur-de-lis and day lilies) have been planted. As a result, a number of distinctive scenic spots, such as Century-old Carriage Track, Sea and Hills, Purple Jade, Mountain Apricot, and Pagoda Trees Protecting the City Wall.

Take Bus No. 41, 43, 44, 59, 610, 713 or 820 to Dongbian Men stop.

The Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall is a national scenic area and is one of the best places in Beijing to educate your children about the politics and development of Beijing. It was opened to the public on September 24th, 2004 and is an exhibition hall that specializes in displaying the history, conditions, and future of Beijing’s urban planning and development.

Through advanced technology, substantially vivid content, and interesting ways that are often presented, the exhibition hall introduces the development history, urban patterns, and panoramic view of the modern urban planning. As a famous city with a vast, long history, it also displays the splendid future for city development. Since the exhibition hall first opened, it has welcomed leaders from more than 70 countries and about one million visitors from both home and abroad. It has won high praise for its rich exhibitions and warm services. The reputation of the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall continues to improve and has become an important window that displays and highlights the city to the world. It is an important place where many politicians stop for state or foreign affairs. This exhibition hall is perhaps one of the most interesting places to understand the past, present, and future of Beijing. So head over there on your next day off and bring a guest with you.

Featured Attractions: The highlight is a massive scale model of the city, which takes up an entire floor and is best viewed with binoculars from above. Elsewhere, the first floor has nice old photographs of hutongs and traditional homes, and the second through fourth floors are simply strange, with 3D movies, booths showcasing the best of Beijing's municipal districts, and a model for a "future house."