Bei Hai Park, Beijing

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Photo of Beihai Park

Beihai Park, Beijing
Author: pfctdayelise (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 Generic)

Bei Hai Park, or North Lake Park, is an extensive park on the northwest of the Forbidden City. It is also immediately to the north of Zhong Nan Hai Park and the inaccessible Communist Party Headquarters.

Bei Hai Park has been an imperial garden for 1,000 years. It was only open to the public in 1925. The park has artificial hills, pavilions and temples. Much of the structures of the park were the work of Kublai Khan, who redesigned the park during the Yuan Dynasty.

In the middle of Bei Hai Park is Bei Hai Lake, and to the side of it, an artificial island called Jade Island. It was created from earth dug when the lake was excavated.

At the summit of Jade Island is the White Pagoda, a Tibetan-style dagoba built to honor the visit of the 5th Dalai Lama in 1651. A series of ascending halls reach up to the pagoda.

Also on the south side of Bei Hai Park is the Nine Dragon Screen. This is a 89-feet wall made of glazed tiles. The wall depicts intertwining dragons. To the west of it is the Xiaoxitian Temple.