Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hills Park, make for a pleasant outing among bamboo fronds, pines, orchids, lilacs and China's most extensive
botanic collection. Containing a rainforest house, the standout
Běijīng Botanical Gardens Conservatory
(ad-
mission with through ticket; 8.30am-4pm) bursts with 3000 different varieties of plants.
About a 15-minute walk from the front gate (follow the signs), but still within the grounds of the gardens, is
Sleeping Buddha Temple
(Wòfó Sì; adult ¥5, or entry with through ticket; 8am-5pm) . The temple, first
built during the Tang dynasty, houses a huge reclining effigy of Sakyamuni weighing 54 tonnes; it's said to have
'enslaved 7000 people' in its casting. Sakyamuni is depicted on the cusp of death, before his entry into nirvana.
On each side of Buddha are arrayed some sets of gargantuan shoes, gifts to Sakyamuni from various emperors
in case he went for a stroll.
On the eastern side of the gardens is the
Cáo Xuěqín Memorial
(Cáo Xuěqín Jìniànguǎn; 39 Zhengbaiqi; ad-
mission ¥10, or entry with through ticket; 8.30am-4.15pm) , where Cáo Xuěqín lived in his latter years.
Cáo (1715-63) is credited with penning the classic
Dream of the Red Mansions,
a vast and prolix family saga
set in the Qing period. Making a small buzz in the west of the gardens is the little
China Honey Bee Museum
(
8.30am-4.30pm Mar-Oct) .
BRIDGE CAFÉ$
( Qiáo Kāfēi; 8286 7025; 12-8 Huaqing Jiayuan, 12-8; dishes from ¥32; 24hr; ; Wudaokou)
Friendly, lively and light-filled place that's a top spot for Western breakfasts, as well as
home-made pasta and tasty pizzas, or coffee and drinks at any time. It's on the 2nd floor;
enter through the door to the side of a gift shop and climb the stairs.
|CAFE
FRAGRANT HILLS PARK
Easily within striking distance of the Summer Palace are Běijīng's Western Hills ( Xī Shān), another former
villa-resort of the emperors. The part of Xī Shān closest to Běijīng is known as
Fragrant Hills Park
( Xiāng
Shān Gōngyuán; summer/winter ¥10/5; 6am-7.30pm; Xiyuan or Yuanmingyuan, then 331).
Scramble up the slopes to the top of
Incense-Burner Peak
(Xiānglú Fēng), or take the
chairlift
(one way/re-
turn ¥30/50, 8.30am to 5pm). From the peak you get an all-embracing view of the countryside, and you can
leave the crowds behind by hiking further into the Western Hills. Beijingers flock here in autumn when the
maple leaves saturate the hillsides in great splashes of red.
