Beihai park, located in the center of Beijing, covers an area of 690,000 with the Palace Museum in the northwest. It was used to be the imperial palace garden to hold some sacrificial ceremonies for the royal family and were successively built by in Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Nowadays it is one of the oldest, best-preserved, most comprehensive and representative existing imperial gardens in China.
Basic Facts about the Beihai Park:
- Beihai park was built in the Liao dynastynearly one thousand yearsAt that time, it was called as “Yaoyu” which means an island with precious jade.
- Beihai gardenis a treasure ofclassical Chinese garden art, which has the grandeur of northern garden and the charm of southern private garden. It inherits the magnificence of imperial garden and the solemnity of religious temple at the same time.
- There are many renowned architectures and landscapes, such as Round City, Painted Boat Hall, Stele of the Jade Islet in Spring Shade, White Dagoba, Western Heaven Temple, Minor Western Heaven, Temple of Eternal Peace, Jade Islet, Nine-dragon Screen and so on. The most popular attractionis the White Dagoba located on Jade Islet.It was built in the early Qing dynasty. The Dagoba is 35.9 meters high with the round on top and square at the bottom, which is the landmark of the Beihai Park.
- The nine-dragonscreen is a kind of screen wall, which is used to block the sight in traditional Chinese architecture. The nine-dragon screen of Beihai Park,located in the northwest, is the best-preserved and most distinctive one in China. It was built in 1756 (Qing dynasty) and it about 27 meters long ,6.6 meters high and 1.4 meters thick with nine huge dragons of vivid postures on both side. There are five ridges on the hip roof and nine dragons on the main ridge. In total, there are 635 dragons decorated on the two ends and the eaves in various shapes. With the unique design and decoration, it also shows the sovereign imperial power, which called “Jiuwuzhizun”(九五至尊) in Chinese which directly means the number nine and number five reign the supreme. Because in ancient China, number nine was regarded as the highest number of the positive number, while number five is the middle So, nine and five are regarded as the representative of the emperor and his imperial power.
- The water of Taiye Lakeis clea Itis a good place for tourists to enjoy the charming scenery by boat, and many kinds of boats are available for tourists.
- Every year many featured activities are held there, such as Chrysanthemum Exhibition, Lotus Flower Festival, Blessing Culture Festival, Stone Sculpture and Stone Carving Exhibition, Ice Festival and so on. Visitors can take part in it according to different tour plan.
How to Buy Entrance Tickets:
- Price of Entrance Tickets:
The ticket price of Beihai Park is different in peak season(Apr. 1 to Oct.31) and low season(Nov.1 to Mar.31), and it has combo ticket (entrance ticket of Beihai Park and Jade Islet).
| Peak season | Low season | |
| Admission Fee for Beihai Park | CNY 10 | CNY 5 |
| Combo Ticket(include White Dagoba and other scenic spots on Jade Islet ) | CNY 20 | CNY 15 |
Opening time:
| November 1st – March 31st | Opening time: 6:30 – 20:00/ Last Admission time: 19:30 |
| April 1st – October 31st | Opening time: 6:30 – 21:00/ Last Admission time: 20:30 |
- Price of various kinds of boats: Visitors can choose appropriate boat.
| Ferry | CNY 10 per person (Single Trip); CNY 15 per person ( Round Trip) |
| Water Bumper Boat | CNY 30 for 15 minutes (Max 2 people ) |
| Rowing Boat | CNY 180/ h with power assisting device ( Max 4 people ); CNY 100/ h without power assisting device ( Max 4 people ) |
| Pedalo | CNY 60/ h ( Max 4 people ); CNY 120/ h ( Max 6 people ) |
| Yellow Duck Pedalo | CNY 100/ h ( Max 4 people) |
| Sculling Boat | CNY 30 per person for half an hour; CNY 50 per person for an hour |
| Battery-driven Boats | CNY 100/ h ( Max 4 people ); CNY 160/ h ( Max 6 people ) |
| Lotus Boat | CNY 120/ h ( Max 4 people ); CNY 180/ h( Max 6 people ); CNY 220/ h ( Max 8 people ) |
When is the Best Time for Beihai Park Tour?
The best time for tourists to visit is from the middle of July to the late August. During these days, tourists can enjoy the charming scenery and fragrance of the great number of lotuses.
Tips: Visitors had better avoid the official holidays in China, because many Chinese citizens choose to travel on official holidays. As a result, most Chinese tourist attractions are overcrowded and traffic jams are quite common.
Official Holidays in China
| Chinese New Year | Around January or February |
| Winter vacation | January-February |
| Labor Day | May1st -3rd |
| Summer vacation(for students) | July-August31st |
| Mid-Autumn Festival | Around mid-September |
| National Day | October 1st-7th |
How to get to the Beihai Park?
- Bus
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- If visitors want to enter from the North Gate, Bus No.13, No.42, No.90, No.107, No.111, No.118, No.609, No.612, No.623, No.701are available. Please get off at the Beihai Park North Gate Station.
- Visitors can take Bus No.5 or No.609 and get off at Xiban Qiao Station, and enter from the East Gate.
- To get to the South Gate or Southwest Gate, visitors can take Bus No.5, No.101, No.103, No.109, No.124, No.619, Special line 1 and line 2 and get off at the Beihai Station.
- Subway
Visitors can take subway line 6 and get off at Beihai Bei(North) Station from the Exit B, and then can walk to the North Gate.
How to Tour theBeihai Park ?
There are two tour routes of the Beihai Park basically.
- The tour route for 2 hours (visit area: Round City and Jade Islet)
Round City → South Gate of Beihai → Eternal Peace (Yong’an) Bridge → Temple of Eternal Peace (Yong’an) → White Dagoba → go along the east side → Stele of the Jade Islet in Spring Shade → the Long Corridor → Yilan Hall → Yuegulou → back to Eternal Peace (Yong’an) Bridge and exit from the South Gate
- The tour route for 4 hours (visit area: the whole park)
Round City → Jade Islet → take the boat from Yilan Hall to the north bank → Five-dragon Pavilion → Minor Western Heaven → Chanfu Temple → Kuaixue Hall → nine-dragon screen → Western Heaven Temple → Zhishan Bridge
