Royal gardens, palaces and temples stand as a tribute to Beijing’s lingering charm. Yet, wandering into the time-honored hutongs and courtyards, you would be stunned by it again.

Charming Hutongs

Mo Yan, laureate of Nobel Prize in Literature, once wrote in his Me in Beijing's Autumn Afternoons, in Beijing, it is the plain yet unique hutongs, weathered wooden doors and bricks that bear witness to its cultural and historical richness, and everlasting traditions. In Beijing’ s old urban area scatter White Stupa Temple, Fusuijing Building, Luxun Museum and his residence, residence of Zhang Xueliang and his wife, Zhao Yidi. At an autumn afternoon, come and take a pleasant stroll.

Reed Catkins at Taoranting Park

Yu Dafu, a writer who grew up in South China, recalled in his Autumn in Peiping, the advent of each autumn would put him in mind of Peiping. It you are in the mood for autumn full of poetic beauty, head to Taoranting Park. Taoranting comes to fame by a poem written by Chinese master poet Bai Juyi. Here, when you look at the azure sky, emerald green water, swaying reed catkins, Chinese honey locust fruits hanging from Chinese locust trees and riverside pavilions, an intense feeling of autumn would of itself well up inside you.

Traffic Guide: special bus No. 3; special bus No. 12 (outer ring); special bus No. 12 (inner ring); night bus No. 15; special bus No. 17; night bus No. 20 (inner ring); night bus No. 20 (outer ring); bus No. 50; AMEX 102; bus No. 122, 458, 485, 692, 958 and 997.

Boating at Houhai Park

For visitors to Beijing, ones who are fond of fashion would head to Sanlitun, ones who are keen on art 798, and ones who have a taste for nostalgia would definitely go to Houhai Park. Here, you can sit by the lake and indulge yourself in a trance; you can embark on an exploration to hutongs here. In autumn days, Shichahai grows quiet and peaceful. At sunrise, go for a row and get a taste of the same feeling described in Bai Juyi’s Chant of the Twilight River, “A beam of exhausted sun in the water paved. Half the river greenish and the other half red.”

Ginkgo Boulevard

When you walk along streets and lanes in autumn Beijing, yellow leaves dancing in the wind would meet the eye. In particular, the Ginkgo Boulevard at Diaoyutai enjoys a great reputation. This Ginkgo Boulevard sprawls outside the east wall of Diaoyutai State Guesthouse at Sanlihe Road. As an old saying goes, one falling leaf is indicative of the coming of autumn. Clusters of fallen leaves in Beijing, so to speak, are the most beautiful “heralds” of autumn.