Beihai park

 

Beihai park

Beihai park is just a few hundred meters northwest of the Forbidden City. Its main attraction is its topography. Most of Beijing is an unrelentingly flat plain, but Beihai boasts a large lake and a few surrounding hills decorated with restored pavilions. The artificial hills are believed to have been created in the Yuan dynasty by the Mongol Khans, who used the area as a base camp. Nothing of the original palace survives except a large jar of green jade that was given to the Khan in 1265. Supposedly it stored his wine until Taoist priests
appropriated it to store pickles.
The Beihai skyline is dominated by an enormous milk-bottle structure called a dagoba, erected first in 1651 and later in 1741 in honor of the Dali Lama's visit. Damaged in a 1976 earthquake, it has since been restored. Within it are believed to be centuries-old relics, including robes and jewelry of past Dali Lamas.
The park is worth a short visit, especially in summer, when you can rent paddleboats to cruise around the lake. However, it's fairly crowded since the admission is cheap and it's so close to the city center.