Yuyuantan Park

Yuyuantan Park, totaling 137 hectares (338.5 acres), is located on the West 3rd-Ring Road (Xi Sanhuan Lu), in the Haidian District. The park boasts extensive waters and beautiful gardens. Half of the total area is occupied by four lakes: the East and the West lakes, the gourd-shaped BayiLake and YinshuiLake. As early as the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), this area had become an imperial fishing spot. The northwest CherryBlossomGarden, Yinshui Lake Scenic Area in the northeast, Zhongshan Isle in the south, and the southeast Liuchun (Keeping Spring) Garden are the main scenic spots.

As its name suggests, the CherryBlossomGarden is noted for its fascinating cherry blossoms. Today, with thousands of cherry trees sent from Japan and other parts of China, the garden is one of the largest in northern China. Every year, the Cherry Blossom Festival is held from March to April, drawing thousands of visitors. A waterside pavilion offers visitors a place to relax in the Chinese way: chatting while having a cup of tea and listening to birds singing.

Liuchun Garden offers a broad lawn of delicate pavilions with zigzaging corridors, luxuriant trees and blossoming flowers all the year round. By piecing bits of porcelain together, the colorful mosaic near the south entrance showcases the theme of the garden, keeping spring. The sculpture of a girl playing a flute on the meadow enhances this leitmotif, and suggests the world's love for spring and youth. A square pavilion in the southwest gives a panoramic view of the garden. If you're lucky, you just might see an amateur performance in the fan-shaped pavilion in the west of this garden.

Between the two lakes is a long and narrow sloping field, called Zhongshan Isle. It was piled up with earth dug when the lakes were made. A monument erected in the western end of it commemorates the youth who devoted themselves to this country. At the high end of the isle is a double-eaved pavilion built in the old style, which allows a complete view of this section of the park.

As for YinshuiLake, Yinshui in Chinese means diverting water, as in from one place to other places. So the water in YinshuiLake comes from the EastLake and flows to Diaoyutai ( the Fishing Platform ) State Guesthouse. Used as a tree nursery in the past, the Yinshui Lake Scenic Area is dotted with white poplars, gingkoes and cedars. In the spring, serried flowering crabapples, together with the cherry blossoms, make this part of the park an ocean of flowers.

In addition, a water park in the northeast of BayiLake and an amusement park for children on the south bank of the East Lake are also attractive spots. If you come here in the winter, you can even see widgeons and white swans.

Admission: 2 yuan (10 yuan during the Cherry Blossom Festival)

Open Hours: 06:30 - 19:00 December 1 - March 31

06:00 - 20:30 April 1 - May 31, September 1 - November 30

06:00 - 21:30 June 1 - August 31

Bus Routes: Bus 323, 368, 374, 394 to Yuyuantan Ximen (West Gate)

Bus 114, 717 to Yuyuantan Dongmen (East Gate)

Bus 32, 414, 617 to Yuyuantan Nanmen (South Gate)

Bus 320, 717, 727, 827, Te ( Special ) 5, to Muxidi