Beijing Zizhuyuan Park

Zizhuyuan Park is one of the seven largest parks in Beijing. It is situated at the southern end of Baishiqiao Road, with its eastern gate directly across the street from Capital Gymnasium.

The park has three connecting lakes covering 11 out of the park' s 14 hectares. Earth dredged from the lakes was pilled up to form several small hills on the eastern shore to complement the natural hills that line the lakes' western shores. Five bridges connect the lakes, islands and hills into a single integrated area. On islands and the banks of the lakes, flowering shrubs, trees and flowers have been planted with a generous hand. To the north of the lakes the famous Changhe River flows slowly by.
A temple, known in the Ming Dynasty as the Temple of Longevity (Wanshousi) originally stood to the northwest of the lake. Here the Qing rulers built a lodging palace where they and their retinues could rest as they floated to the Summer Palace or the Jade Spring Mountain on the Changhe River. Nowadays all that remains of the original temple are two stone stelae and traces of two landing platforms on the banks of the river.