Xiangshan Park (Fragrant Hills Park)
As a large royal garden park of hills and forest, XiangShan Park covers 395 acres and consists of a natural pine-cypress forest, hills with maple trees, smoke trees and persimmon trees, as well as landscaped areas with abundant traditional architecture and cultural relics.
And now it has become a famous beautiful attraction which is most famous for the red colored leaves that cover the mountains in autumn, an event now seemingly fixed in the Beijing calendar. However, with so much to see, XiangShan Park is a wonderful day out throughout the year.
The History of Xiangshan Park
The park was first built in 1186 during the Jin Dynasty and later extended during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. In 1745, Emperor QianLong (1711 to 1799) ordered the addition of many new halls, pavilions and gardens and gave it a new name: JingYi Garden (Garden of Tranquility and Pleasure).
Unfortunately, in 1860 and 1900, when the Old Summer Palace (YuanMingYuan) and the Summer Palace (YiHeYuan) were set on fire, lots of buildings in the XiangShan Park were also damaged by foreign troops. But with a half-century's restoration and development by Chinese government, Fragrant Hills Park has been recognized as one of the ten most famous parks in Beijing.
What is most beautiful in Xiangshan Park?
The most amazingly spectacular natural scenery in Xiangshan Park is the red smoke tree leaves over the mountains. Fiery red leaves blanket the entire mountain when autumn arrives. Every year, thousands of visitors come to the park to view the beauty. Additionally, the cable cars are a great way to take in the beautiful scenes.
Opening hours: Apr.to June : 6:00 --18:30 Sept.to Nov.: 6:00--18:30 July. to Aug.: 6:00--19:00 Dec. to Mar. 6:00--18:00
Location: East part of western hills, Haidian District, Beijing
How to get there?
Just take Bus number 318,331,360 will lead you to Xiangshan Park. Or, alternatively take a taxi from central Beijing to Xiangshan Park: 30 - 40 yuan
Best time /weather to Xiangshan Park
Due to its high elevation and dense cover of trees, spring arrives late in the area and summer days are always pleasantly cool. The best time to visit the park is late fall, when the smoke tree leaves turn red. The trees make the grandest display of all. There are also groves of apricots, pears, peaches and lilacs adding their fragrance, and the more solemn evergreens, whose contribution to the local beauty are unrestricted by seasonal changes.
Travel tips
• The first way to explore there is to go along the north route, where visitors will see Spectacles Lake (Yanjing Lake), Study of Reading Heart (Jianxin Zhai), Bright Temple (Zhao Miao), etc.
• Another route leads to the south area of the park. Main attractions along the route include Tranqulity Green Lake (Jingcui Lake), Shuangqing Villa, Fragrant Temple, Incense Burner Peak, etc. This route is a little hard for the highest peak, Incense Burner Peak. However it is worthwhile to try.
• The best season to visit there is autumn. If possible, travel there in autumn. But the rest seasons are all ok, they have different features. The alluring beauty of Fragrant Hills Park waits for you to appreciate all it has to offer.
Tickets: RMB 5 (Nov.16 to Mar.31); RMB 10 (Apr.1 to Nov.15)
Tour Time: 2 to 4 hours
Features: A modern forest park with long history and rich culture; a unique pleasantly cool Park in summer of Beijing, one of the popular Beijing attractions
