Two parks that belong together

Most Beijing itineraries sprint from the Forbidden City straight to the Great Wall and skip the two parks sitting right beside the palace. I would put Beihai and Jingshan near the top of any first visit. They give you something the headline sights rarely do: shade, benches, and a view locals have been enjoying for the better part of eight hundred years.

The two parks sit on either side of the Forbidden City. Jingshan is the hill directly north of the palace's rear gate. Beihai is the lake park to the northwest, about a fifteen-minute walk away. Doing both in one afternoon is easy, and it works best in that order: Beihai first, Jingshan for sunset.

Beihai: lake, island, white dagoba

Beihai means "North Sea," which is generous for what is really a man-made lake, though the scale still impresses. The park wraps around a large island called Qionghua, and on top of it sits a white Tibetan-style dagoba you can spot from blocks away. Use it as your compass.

This water and these hills were an imperial retreat long before the Forbidden City existed. Emperors from the Liao and Jin dynasties onward kept adding to the garden, and later dynasties kept going. The result is a park where something worth looking at is always a few steps away, which is exactly why it makes such a good slow afternoon.

Tickets and how to get in

Entrance costs around 10 yuan in high season and less in winter. The combined ticket, which adds the island attractions and the Round City, is worth the small extra. The park opens early and closes around 8 or 9 pm depending on the season.

The easiest way in is the north gate, five minutes from Beihai North station on metro line 6. If you are already wandering the hutongs around Shichahai, you can walk in from the east side instead.

The route I would take

• Enter at the north gate and walk straight to the Nine-Dragon Screen, a glazed-tile wall built in 1756 that most people photograph for a minute and then leave. Look at it properly. There are 635 dragons on it.
• Continue south along the shore. Willows dip into the water, and you can rent a pedal boat if you want to get out on the lake.
• Cross the arched bridge to Qionghua Island and climb to the White Dagoba. The steps are steady rather than steep, and the view back over the lake is the reason to come.
• Walk down and exit through the south gate toward the Round City, a small walled compound with a pavilion and a huge jade jar that is worth ten minutes.
• From there, walk east for about twenty minutes to the north gate of Jingshan Park.

Jingshan: the best view over the Forbidden City

Jingshan is the highest point in central Beijing, which sounds grander than it is, since the hill is only about 45 meters tall. It was built from the earth dug out when the palace moat was excavated. What matters is where it stands: directly on the north-south axis, on the far side of the Forbidden City.

Climb to the Wanchun Pavilion at the summit and you get a straight-line view down over the palace's yellow roofs. On a clear day you can follow the axis north to the Drum and Bell Towers. The entrance fee is famously cheap, a couple of yuan, which makes this one of the best-value views in the city.

Timing your visit

Go in the last hour before closing. The light drops onto the roofs, the tour groups thin out, and the locals who come to sing, dance and play cards in the lower park give the place a completely different mood. Sunset over the Forbidden City is the best cheap experience in Beijing, and I say that having paid far more for worse.

Practical notes

• Allow two to three hours for both parks, more if you stop for tea.
• Wear shoes you can climb steps in. Both parks involve stairs.
• Bring water. Vendors inside charge tourist prices.
• Toilets are plentiful and usually clean. Look for the standard signs.
• If you have one free afternoon in Beijing and you have already seen the palace, this is how I would spend it.

Finish with dinner in the hutongs between Jingshan and the Drum Tower. The streets are full of small restaurants, and after a few hours on your feet you will have earned it.

Originally published on 71Asia Tours blog.