Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

    BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Beijing, China's capital for more than 700 years, boasts some of the finest parks and gardens in the world. Dating from imperial times, the best of these sites include:

    The Summer Palace, or Yihe Yuan

    In the capital's western outskirts, the Summer Palace is the country's largest imperial park and among the most noted classical gardens in the world. It features archetypal Chinese landscapes and imperial buildings. In 1998, it was listed as one of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

    Started in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), it had been extended continuously ever since. By the time of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it had become a place of rest and entertainment for the ruling classes.

    The Summer Palace comprises more than 3,000 structures, including pavilions, towers, bridges, and corridors. Covering 294 hectares, three quarters of the area is water. Its most distinctive features are Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake.

    The garden was razed to the ground by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860. In 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi embezzled navy funds to reconstruct it. She spent most of her later years there, dealing with state affairs and entertaining.

    Cost: 20 yuan (2.9 U.S. dollars) (Nov. 1 to March 31) / 30 yuan (April 1 to Oct. 31)

    Opening Hours: 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Nov. 1 to March 31) / 6:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. (April 1 to Oct. 31)

    Transport: The garden is about 15 km from the city center. Although many buses travel to the garden, taxis can be quicker.

    Website: http://en.summerpalace-china.com/

    The Old Summer Palace, or Yuanming Yuan

    Also in northwest Beijing, this park was begun in 1709 and was completed 150 years later. It was extolled as the "garden of gardens", with its exquisite landscapes, Chinese-style palaces and western Baroque buildings, art and cultural relics over 347 hectares.

    However, it was obliterated in a few days in 1860 during the Second Opium War (1860-1862), when the British and French forces plundered and burned it to the ground. The garden was looted and burned again after partial restoration in 1900 when the Eight-Power Allied Forces of Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, Italy and Austria occupied Beijing.

    Of the once magnificent buildings, all that remains are a few ruins, a sorry reminder of past splendors. The sprawling compound still impresses with its aura of faded glory.

    Cost: 10 yuan (1.5 U.S. dollars)

    Opening Hours: 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.

    Transport: This site is best served by taxis.

    Website: www.yuanmingyuanpark.com

    Jingshan Park

    The beautiful landscaped garden in the center of Beijing covers 32.3 hectares and faces the north gate of the Forbidden City. Climb Jingshan Hill, which used to be the highest point in the city, for a full and clear view of the Forbidden City.

    The hill, made with the earth removed to create the moat surrounding the Forbidden City, has five peaks, on each of which sits a pavilion. It is from the the Wanchun Pavilion (Ten Thousand Spring Pavilion), on the middle peak, that visitors will see the resplendent and magnificent Forbidden City to the south, and the dignified Bell and Drum Towers to the north, as well as the White Dagoba in Beihai Park to the west.

    Cost: 2 yuan

    Opening Hours: 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. (June to August)

    6 a.m. - 9 p.m. (April, May, September, October)

    6 a.m. - 8 p.m. (November to March)

    Transport: Take a number 5 bus from the west side of Tian'anmen Gate to get off at the western gate of the park. Or take a taxi.

    No websites for reference

　　Beihai Park

    With the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park to its east, Beihai (North Sea) Park is another well-preserved imperial garden.

    The garden, begun about 1,000 years ago, is a classic combination of grandiose northern and refined southern China landscapes, as well as the integration of magnificent imperial palaces and solemn religious buildings.

    Beihai Park covers about 69 hectares, more than half of which is taken up by the lake. In the southern end of the lake lies the Jade Flowery Islet, topped by the imposing White Dagoba, a city landmark.

    The White Dagoba was built in 1651 on the former site of the Palace in the Moon where Kublai Khan received Marco Polo. At the suggestion of a Tibetan lama, Emperor Shunzhi, the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty, agreed to build a Tibetan dagoba to show his belief in Buddhism and his desire for the unification of China's ethnic groups. The White Dagoba was destroyed in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake and later reconstructed. Resting on a huge stone base, it stands 35.9 meters high and is capped by two bronze umbrella-like canopies, with 14 bronze bells hanging around them.

    Cost: 10 yuan (April 1 to Oct. 31) / 5 yuan (Nov. 1 to March 31)

    Opening Hours: 6:30 a.m.- 8 p.m. (January, February, March, November, December)

    6 a.m.- 9 p.m. (April, May, September, October)

    6 a.m.- 10 p.m. (June, July, August)

    Transport: Taxis recommended.

    Website: www.beihaipark.com.cn/en/about/index.htm