Parks
Temple of Heaven
Far south east of Qianmen and the Tiananmen Square. Not only a beautiful sight, but also surrounded by a vast public park popular with local residents practicing tai chi, dancing, and so on in the mornings and on weekends. Home to many ancient trees, this is also the greenest place in Beijing. Just a short stroll away from the historical sights will bring you to peaceful woods and, amazingly, solitude especially toward the West Gate. The temple itself was the site where the emperor prayed every year for good harvests and fair weather. Sadly there are few good views of the temple from outside the inner compound wall, which costs extra to enter. The most convenient way for getting there is taking the Subway Line 5 to the Tiantandongmen Station this is Tiantan's East Gate. It also can be reached by buses 2, 7, 17, 20, 110, 120, 803, 814, 826 to the West Gate 天åè¥¿é¨ TiÄntán XÄ«mén; or buses 35 and 106 to the North Gate 天ååé¨ TiÄntán BÄimén. Bear in mind that walking around this park will take some time.
Longtan Park
Park with lake, boats for hire, teahouses and a restaurant, childrens playground, pavilions, a bird market and a lot of dragons. There is also a climbing wall and a roller skating area in the park.
Museums and exhibitions
Beijing Museum of Natural History
Large museum with a lot of information on nature, but some of the exhibitions are a bit old fashioned. Exhibitions cover paleontology, zoology, animal behavior, botany, the original of human beings, dinosaurs, aquarium, the human body, cells, skeletons and an interactive park.
Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall
Museum with a large model of the city, historical pictures from the city and also other exhibitions with relation to the layout and structure of Beijing.
Red Gate Gallery
Red Gate was founded in 1991 by Australian Brian Wallace. The gallery exhibits work by contemporary Chinese artists reflecting China's changing society in relation to daily life, gender, population, and the environment. The media are traditional Chinese painting, collage, lithographs and oil painting.
Qianmen
Built in 1419 as the front gate of the inner city wall. Was originally only used by the emperor on his way to Tiantan. Now it houses exhibits with photos and models of the old city.
Shrine of Yuan Chonghuan
Yuan Chonghuan 1584-1630 was a famous hero and prominent marshal of the Ming Dynasty.