North Shore Scenic Area

Located in central Beijing, Beihai Park is one of the oldest and most authentically preserved imperial gardens in China. Beihai Park covers a total area of over 68 hectares, more than half of it is taken up by the Beihai Lake. The park consists of North Shore Scenic Area, East Shore Scenic Area, Qiongdao Island, Circular City and Botanical Garden. It is divided into the above parts for Beihai Park is too big. North Shore, of course, means north shore of Beihai, which means literally North Sea in Chinese. In the following, North Shore Scenic Area will be introduced to you.

What to see in North Shore Scenic Area
Five-Dragon Pavilions
Five-Dragon Pavilions were built in 1602 during the Ming Dynasty. The five pavilions are respectively Longze, Yongrui, Fucui, Chengxiang and Zixiang Pavilions. The one in the middles is the largest. The five waterborne pavilions are connected by zigzagging bridges. In old days, the emperor and his consorts came here to fish, watch fireworks or admire the moon.

Nine-Dragon Screen
Nine-Dragon Screen in this Beihai Park was made in 1756. It is one of the three existing Nine Dragon Wall in China. The other two are Baihai Nine Dragon Wall and Shanxi Datong Nine Dragon Wall. The screen wall is 5 meters high, 1.2 meters thick and 27 meters long. The whole wall is built with glazed color bricks. Both sides of the wall are caved with dragons. On either side of it there are nine dragons, also made of glazed bricks. And each dragon is playing with a pearl amidst waves of clouds. There are a total of about 635 dragons on the both sides of wall.

Jingxinzhai House
Jingxinzhai House (Quieting Heart Room) covers an area of about 8700 square meters. It is an elaborately garden in Beihai Park and is called a garden within the garden. It was originally built in Ming Dynasty of China and then rebuilt in Qing Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. The main structures included Baoshu Book House, Yunqin House, Bixian Pavilion, Qinqian Corridor, Zhenluan Pavilion and other buildings. The mains buildings in Jingxinzhai House are sandwiched by water in front and behind. Its name was deprived from a line of poem:" A house by a pond seems to stand before a mirror".

Iron Shadow Screen Wall
Iron Shadow Screen Wall is a heritage of Yuan Dynasty of China (1206-1368). The screen wall is 1.89 meters high and 3.5 meters long. It looks dark brown and was carved by neutral volcanic lapillus. The brown color gives it the appearance of iron, which is how it got its name. The two sides of it have carvings of animals and patterns in relief. 

►Recommended Beijing tour: 4 Days Best Beijing Tour
(Attractions: Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Mutianyu Great Wall, Changling Tomb)