Beijing Bike Tour

Once in Beijing, if you would like to find a place where you can enjoy the natural scenery, trace ancient pavilions, smell fragrance of various flowers in full bloom in spring, repair to a cool umbrageous woodland for summer, appreciate the charming autumn hills overlaid with red maple leaves, admire the beautiful snow-capped hill scenery in winter, it is no doubt that the Fragrant Hills Park is one of your best choices. 
 

Located in the west of city center and covering an area of 160 hectares, the Fragrant Hills Park is one of the most renowned imperial gardens in Beijing. With a history of more than 800 years, it was first built in 1186 during Jin Dynasty and respectively extended in the next three dynasties of Yuan, Ming and Qing. The entrance fee of the Fragrant Hill is CNY10.00 per person from Apr 01 to Nov 15 and CNY5.00 per person from Nov 16 to Mar 31 of the next year.
 

Now it is popular to travel to the Fragrant Hills Park by bike and we have the following bike tour itinerary for you.
 

Starting from Tiananmen Square, riding towards west along Chang’an Avenue and Fuxingmen Street for about 6.8 km, you will see the subway station Muxidi. Then after another one kilometer’s riding, you will get to the Martial Museum which is a comprehensive military historical museum built in 1959. It comprises the Hall of Chinese Ancient War, the Hall of the Opium War from 1840 to 1919, the Hall of Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945, the Hall of National Liberation War, the Hall of Weapons and so on. These halls display some important military events, persons and weapons. The entrance fee of the Martial Museum is free, but you need to show your passport when you get the ticket.
 

Continue to ride towards west along Chang’an Avenue for about 5.3 kilometers to reach another subway station Wukesong. Here you will see Wukesong Stadium near the station, which has held many international matches during the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and vocal concerts of some famous singers. 
 

Heading north for about 2.0 km on Sihuan Road (the fourth ring road), you will reach Dinghui Bridge. Further riding northward for around 2.5 km to arrive at Sijiqing Qiao, turning left and riding towards west for 60 meters to enter into Xinshikou Road, continue riding in the direction of the famous Badachu for about 4.9 km and turning right, you will get to Xingshikou Bridge. From Xingshikou Bridge, let’s head to west and ride for 190 meters to enter into Fragrant Hills South road. After riding about 4.5 km along this road and turning left, you will get to the Fragrant Hills Road. Heading towards west for around 540 meters and turning south for about 20 meters, you will reach Zhenghuangqi Village Road. Continue to ride ahead for about 260 meters, turn right and ride for 190 meters, the east gate of the Fragrant Hills Park will appear in front of you.
 

Taking a deep breath and then exhaling, you may feel very comfortable and it seems that tiredness is dispelled in a flash, and so the Fragrant Hills Park is also named “the behind garden of Beijing City” or “the Green Bar of Oxygen” for its fresh and clean air. 
 

The Fragrant Hills Park has distinctive features in each season. In spring, the almond trees blossom out and you will be immersed in the waves of scent, so it was said that the name Fragrant Hills came from here. As it is also a famous forest park, thus in summer it is a good place for coolness. In autumn, the hills are blanketed with red maple leaves, which always make visitors linger on and forget to return. There is an ancient poem which describes people to the love of red leaves like this: a poet hurried on his journey in the nightfall, while when he saw the red leaves of the mountain, he stopped his gharry to appreciate the beauty quietly and he felt the red leaves were redder and more attractive than those of the flowers. The best time and sites to watch the red leaves are from middle October to middle November at Yuhua Mansion, Banshan Pavilion or Langfeng Pavilion. In winter, you will have a chance to see the so called Sunny Western Hills after Snow, which is one of the Peking Eight Sights admired by the locals. No matter when you visit the Fragrant Hills, you will be attracted by its unique charm.
 

There are some smaller sightseeing spots in the Fragrant Hills Park, such as Biyun Temple which shows the complex architectural style of the Ming and Qing dynasties, Zhao Temple which is a palace once welcomed the sixth Panchen Lama, Jianxin Chamber which is special for its southern classic courtyard, and Shuangqing Villa where the Great Chairman Mao lived and worked with his comrades in arms and so on.
 

If you do not want to miss those popular sightseeing spots in the Fragrant Hills Park, you may take the following route: East gate of Fragrant Hills Park - Zhuozheng Palace - Jingcui Lake - Shuangqing Villa - Fragrant Temple - Duojing Pavilion - Senyu Tablets - Incense Burner Peak - Sunny Western Hills after Snow - Yuhua Villa - Jianxin Chamber - Zhao Temple - Spectacles Lake - South gate of Fragrant Hills Park. Finally we hope you enjoy this Fragrant Hills Park bike tour.