Canal Granary Tour
Route:
Beixin Cang
Nanxin Cang
Tongzhou Great Canal Zhongcang
Tongzhou Great Canal Xicang
Unique features of the route:
"Storing grain is the great destiny of the world. Grain reserves are related to the economic lifeline and political stability of the country. Countless grain from the canal is transported to Beijing through the Great Canal River, from the river, dam, to the wharf. These grains first enter the grain warehouses of all sizes in Beijing. According to the record of the Qing Dynasty's Zhenjun's "Tianzhi Ouwen", "The warehouses in the city are called Beixin, Haiyun in the north, and Fuxin, Nanxin, Xingping, and Jiu Tai in the south of Chaoyangmen. Lumi is in the south of Chaoyangmen." With the passage of time, the "grain transport river" and grain warehouses have completed their historical missions, but they still shine after years of precipitation...
01 Beixin Cang
Beixin Cang is located at No. 16 Beixin Cang Hutong, Dongcheng District. It is one of the official warehouses for storing grain transportation in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. After the invasion of the Eight-Power Allied Forces in Beijing, the grain warehouse was forcibly occupied, and the history of Beixin Cang as a grain storage warehouse for the Ming and Qing Dynasties ended. During the Republic of China period, Beixin Cang was converted into an army clothing factory (warehouse). Today, Beixin Cang has three north-facing warehouse doors, surrounded by walls, and the warehouses and walls are all built of city bricks. The ventilation facilities of each warehouse are basically intact.
02 Nanxin Cang
Nanxin Cang, commonly known as Dongmen Cang, is located at No. 22 Dongsi 40th Street, Dongcheng District. It is one of the official warehouses for storing grain transportation in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The warehouses of Nanxin Cang are all built of large city bricks, just like the city walls. The warehouses have eaves in the front and back, and the roofs have air towers and sluice boards to ensure the evaporation of water vapor and prevent grain from becoming moldy. During the Republic of China period, Nanxin Cang was converted into an arsenal; after the founding of New China, it became a warehouse for Beijing Department Store, and later transformed into Nanxin Cang Cultural and Leisure Street. The plaque of Nanxin Cang's warehouse no longer exists, and only some remnants remain for viewing.
03 Tongzhou Great Canal Zhongcang
Tongzhou Great Canal Zhongcang is now located at No. 10 Zhongcang Road, Tongzhou District. Tongzhou is an important place for grain transportation and storage. It can be said that Tongzhou City in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was a prosperous city due to grain transportation and storage. In the Ming Dynasty, three large-scale grain warehouses were established in Tongzhou, collectively called "Tongcang". The middle grain warehouse was called "Zhongcang", and it was officially named "Great Canal Zhongcang" in the first year of the Zhengtong period. There are still some building components of warehouses and halls, such as large stone mills and foundation stones, in the site. Outside the north wall, there is a precious carrier of Tongzhou grain transportation and storage culture, a piece of ancient locust tree and a warehouse god temple stele body, which has high historical value.
04 Tongzhou Great Canal Xicang
The site of the wall remains of Tongzhou Great Canal West Warehouse is now located at No. 9 Tonglinge Street, Beiyuan Subdistrict, Tongzhou District, with most of it located within the Hongqi Electromechanical Institute. Like Great Canal Middle Warehouse, Tongzhou Great Canal West Warehouse was a granary established in the seventh year of the Ming Dynasty's Yongle era, and was officially named "Great Canal West Warehouse" in the first year of the Zhengtong era. It was the largest granary among the warehouses in Beijing and Tongzhou. After the cessation of shipping on the Northern Canal, it was no longer used, and only a 40-meter-long section of the southern warehouse wall remains above ground, with the rest of the wall foundation buried underground.
Recommended attractions along the route and its surroundings:
Former site of the Sino-French University
Meihou Si Shi Jingshan Citizen Culture Center
Great Canal Canal Forest Park
Donglang (Tongzhou) Film Creative Industry Park
Recommended local cuisine along the route and its surroundings:
Zijin Hotel (former site of the Belgian Embassy)
Beijing Daoxiangcun First Store
Beijing International Hotel 28th Floor Revolving Restaurant
Tiantan Fuyin
Recommended accommodations along the route and its surroundings:
Beijing Daizhu Youlan Hotel
Canal Town Tour
Route:
Taihu Performing Arts Town
Zhangjiawan Design Town
Songzhuang Art Town
Unique features of the route:
The long history of the Grand Canal has given birth to a profound Grand Canal culture. Along the Grand Canal cultural belt, characteristic towns are blooming, and the urban space and functional layout of "stars surrounding the moon, beads forming a chain, and each displaying its own beauty" are beginning to take shape. Taihu Performing Arts Town continues the charm of the Grand Canal culture in its performances, Zhangjiawan Design Town gives the Grand Canal a vibrant vitality, and Songzhuang Art Town paints a picture in the interplay of colors. Performing arts, design, and art complement each other, making the Canal towns shine with brilliance...
01 Taihu Performance Town
Taihu Performance Town is a unique leisure tourism destination that combines ecology and performing arts. The National Grand Theater Taihu Art Museum in the town is a museum that integrates design, production, research, exchange, collection, and exhibition. There is also a performing arts and creative exhibition center that integrates performing arts, characteristic exhibitions, performing arts workshops, and art studios, as well as the Taihu Performance Workshop, which includes a multi-functional theater and an immersive small theater. In addition, the town also has comprehensive formats such as themed catering, craft beer, coffee and cake, tea room and bookstore, boutique camping, children's expansion, leisure farm, and homestay. Here, you can not only read books and audiovisual archives, but also experience the production process of costumes, props, and stage design up close, listen to a concert in an outdoor theater, and explore the secrets of stage art.
02 Zhangjiawan Design Town
Zhangjiawan Design Town was born because of water and relies on the thousand-year-old canal transportation to become an important node on the historical and cultural corridor. Here, while looking for memories of the old industrial area, you can also appreciate the aesthetic design of industrial heritage buildings. The shared office hall transformed from the former garment workshop, the designer restaurant transformed from the old factory canteen, and the Beijing International Design Week permanent site transformed from the "tangible heritage" of the main roads, main factory buildings, and red brick buildings (offices, dormitories, boiler rooms, substations, etc.) of the Beipao Light Steel Factory area are a symbiosis of old and new elements in industrial heritage. When you come to Zhangjiawan Design Town, you must not miss the pocket park on the Copper Bull Square, which is small and beautiful. The tree-lined trail in the park connects several main attractions such as the Design Heart, Wisdom Square, Cultural Memory, Creative Wonderland, and Viewing Platform, each of which embodies the aesthetics of art and design.
03 Songzhuang Art Town
In Songzhuang Art Town, the most abundant thing is the artistic atmosphere. On the east side of the roundabout in Xiaobao Village, Songzhuang Town, there is a highly post-modern building, which is the largest private museum in the field of radio and film in China so far - Daqi Radio and Film Museum. Hundreds of film and radio machines are displayed on the second and third floors of the museum. Walking into the Dongyun Silk Culture Art Museum, you can get close to ancient, mysterious, brilliant, and magnificent handicrafts. Go to the Xiangcun Art Museum in the town to experience the fun of making pottery by yourself, and you can also order a cup of coffee to appreciate the wonderful charm of intangible cultural heritage in the fragrance of coffee.
Recommended attractions along the route and its surroundings:
Taihu Performance Workshop
Dao Xiaoxie Art Farm
Recommended local cuisine along the route and its surroundings:
Rhododendron Art Bar
RAN HOUSE Art Restaurant (Songzhuang Branch)
Mr. Yuan's Courtyard
Recommended accommodations along the route and its surroundings:
Jinxitang Inn
Warm Tang Fragrant Color Inn
Beitou Taihu Performing Arts Hotel
Beijing Xinghu Park Hot Spring Resort
Canal Park Tour
Route:
Xihai Wetland Park
Qingfeng Park
Majiawan Wetland Park
Xihai Lake Park
Unique features of the route:
If the Grand Canal is like a beautiful necklace spread across the land of Beijing, then each park along the Grand Canal Cultural Belt, whether it is a historical urban park or a newly built wetland park or suburban park, is like a shining pearl on this necklace. With the river as the chain, the scenery as the pearl, and the ecology as the starting point, it continues the prosperity of the Grand Canal...
01 Xihai Wetland Park
Xihai Wetland Park is located in the Shichahai Street of Xicheng District, and is the only urban wetland in the core area of the capital. The park integrates "canal culture, poetry and literature, and wetland culture" into leisure space and lakeside trails, depicting a natural wetland landscape in multiple dimensions. The park includes about 20,000 square meters of aquatic planting areas such as lotus planting areas and calamus reed areas. At the same time, it has three ecological floating island areas with rich aquatic plant communities and various bird habitats. In addition to aquatic plants, there are also various flowers and plants such as Pinus tabulaeformis, weeping willows, crabapples, mountain peaches, mountain apricots, and lilacs "decorating" the Huitong Ci Mountain and the lakeside green space. The entire park is full of vitality with clear water and green trees.
02 Qingfeng Park
Qingfeng Park is located on the south bank of the Tonghui River in Chaoyang District. It is named after the Qingfeng Lock on the Tonghui River. As a canal terminal, the Qingfeng Lock area in ancient times had water, scenery, and popularity, and it can be said that transportation and entertainment were both available. Today's Qingfeng Park is hidden under the water gate and modern high-rise buildings. It not only has a fresh and elegant environment and picturesque scenery, but also has a profound historical heritage. Climbing up the observation tower named "New City View", overlooking the blue water and looking at the CBD central business district on the opposite bank, the ancient and modern prosperity are integrated into a magnificent view.
03 Majiawan Wetland Park
Majiawan Wetland Park is located in the Xiaotaihou section of Chaoyang District. The park is built along the Xiaotaihou River and has "1 corridor, 4 areas, and 22 scenic spots" along the line. The park preserves a Liao Dynasty ancient bridge, which spans the ancient Xiaotaihou River. Next to the ancient bridge is the ancient city wall with a long history. The ancient bridge and the city wall complement each other, adding historical charm to the park. On the Dianjiangtai in the park stands a white marble monument, recording the history and legends of the Xiaotaihou River.
04 Xihai Lake Park
Xihai Lake Park is located in Xihai West Street, Tongzhou District, and is an important ecological landscape node on the Grand Canal cultural belt. Based on the design concept of traditional Chinese gardens, the park combines natural water, stones, flowers, and trees to form a rich and interesting landscape. The park takes water as its soul, and the Grand Canal culture and Tongzhou history as its core, combined with rich historical relics such as Sanjiao Temple, Randal Tower, Huluhu Lake, and Li Zhuowu's Tomb, forming a landscape structure of "one tower, two lakes, and four areas". Today, Xihai Lake Park has become a new urban landscape in the city center, where water and greenery blend harmoniously, and movement and stillness are suitable.
Recommended attractions along the route and its surroundings:
The Palace Museum
Jingshan Park
Shichahai
Tongzhou District Museum
Sanlitun Taikoo Li
China World Trade Center
Guo Shoujing Memorial Hall
Recommended local cuisine along the route and its surroundings:
Huguo Temple Snacks
Fangshan Restaurant (Beihai Branch)
Siyue River Pufferfish · New Huaiyang (Tongzhou Poly Store)
Recommended accommodations along the route and its surroundings:
Beijing Hotel
Beitou Green Heart Tennis Hotel
Beijing Tongzhou Beitou Hilton Hotel
Canal Cultural Landmarks Tour
Route:
Beijing Art Center
Beijing Grand Canal Museum
Beijing City Library
Unique features of the route:
The three large buildings of Beijing Art Center, Beijing Grand Canal Museum, and Beijing City Library are located in the Beijing City Green Heart Forest Park. They are located north of the Grand Canal and face the administrative office area across the canal. They are an important part of the "one belt, one axis, two rings, one heart" planning pattern of the urban sub-center, reflecting Chinese traditional culture and canal elements. The total building area of the "three major buildings" is about 600,000 square meters. They will become the landmark public cultural buildings in the urban sub-center and a new popular destination for citizens and tourists.
01 Beijing Art Center
Looking at its exterior, with more than 4,000 folded aluminum plates, it looks like "the curtain is slowly opening and the show is about to begin." The building's shape resembles an ancient granary and a ship transporting goods. This is the Beijing Art Center, which consists of a concert hall, opera house, and theater, as well as a small theater and an outdoor theater. In the future, it will be able to meet the annual performance needs of 650 shows and 600 events, operated and managed by the National Grand Theater.
02 Beijing Grand Canal Museum
It looks like a ship sailing far away. This is the Beijing Grand Canal Museum, known as the "cultural boat." The roof of the main building resembles a sail, and the shared lobby for visitors is like a wooden boat. There is also a waterway in the middle, creating a canal landscape. The Beijing Grand Canal Museum is operated and managed by the Capital Museum. After opening, it can receive up to 6,000 visitors per day. The 32,000 square meters of exhibition space allows visitors to fully appreciate the infinite charm of the Beijing Grand Canal culture and ancient capital culture.
03 Beijing City Library
From a bird's-eye view, it looks like a red "square seal." From any angle, it looks like a forest full of ginkgo leaves. This is the Beijing City Library, with the poetic sentiment of "reading diligently among the mountains and under the trees." When it opens for trial operation at the end of the year, readers will climb the stairs and enter the spacious and bright library hall, where two "book mountains" come into view. Here, reading is a peaceful enjoyment... The Beijing City Library will be operated and managed by the Capital Library.
Recommended attractions along the route and its surroundings:
Dongyun Silk Culture and Art Museum
Jinghang Grand Canal Academy
Recommended local cuisine along the route and its surroundings:
Dashunzhai Food Store (Xinhua East Street Branch)
Infini Town
Forest Fun Restaurant
Jinghang Garden Restaurant
Recommended accommodations along the route and its surroundings:
Canal courtyard
Field flower bed and breakfast
Lotus pond moonlight bed and breakfast
Beitou athlete hotel
Beitou Green Heart Tennis Hotel
