Yuyuantan Park

Yuyuantan Park, totaling 137 hectares (338.5 acres), is located on Xisanhuan Road (Xisanhuan Lu), in Haidian District. The park boasts extensive waters and beautiful gardens. Half the footprint is occupied by four lakes: the East and West lakes, the gourd-shaped Bayi Lake and Yinshui Lake. As early as the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), this area had become an imperial fishing spot. The northwest Cherry Blossom Garden, 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 Cherry Blossom Garden 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 birdsong.

Liuchun Garden offers a broad lawn, delicate pavilions, zigzag 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. And, if you're lucky, you just might see an amateur performance in the fan-shaped pavilion in the west of this garden.

Between 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 erecting in the west commemorates the youth who devoted themselves to this country. The high point of the isle is the double-eaved pavilion done in the old style, which allows a whole view of this section.

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

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

 Beijing Parks and Lakes:

• Xiangshui Lake
• Pearl Lake
• Zizhuyuan Park
• Beihai Park
• Lianhuachi Park
• Qinglong Lake & Hope Park