Beihai Park

Beihai Park is a public park and former imperial garden immediately northwest of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. First built in the 12th century, Beihai is among the largest of all surviving Chinese gardens and contains numerous historically important structures, palaces, and temples. Once part of the Imperial City, it has been open to the public since 1925. As with many of Chinese imperial gardens, Beihai was designed to imitate renowned scenic spots and architecture from various regions of China, particularly Jiangnan around the Yangtze Delta. Various aspects of the park evoke the elaborate pavilions and canals of Hangzhou and Yangzhou, the delicate gardens of Suzhou, and the natural scenery around Lake Tai with its famously porous stones. Beihai Park itself is now reckoned one of the masterpieces of Chinese gardening and landscaping. The present park has an area of around 71 hectares (180 acres) with a lake that covers more than half of its area. At its center is Jade Flower Island (t 瓊華島, s 琼华岛, Qiónghuádǎo), whose highest point is 32 meters (105 ft). The park's lake is connected at its northern end to the Shichahai.