Secret havens: 5 of Beijing's best concealed cultural spots
We unearthed some of Beijing's secret havens – how many have you discovered so far?
If you're trying to escape the tourist-beaten path in the heart of Beijing, head to one of these lesser-known tourist destinations instead: visit a temple that's not the Temple of Heaven or the Lama Temple, dig out your binoculars and do some bird-watching, check out a tomb or two and much more.
Zhihua Temple
Wedged between the shadow of Galaxy Soho and the ritzy Jinbao Jie, Zhihua Temple has been quietly going along with its business for over 500 years. It’s a gem of a find, smack in the middle of the city. Constructed by the emperor’s favourite eunuch Wang Zhen in 1444, Zhihua has been well known as a centre for traditional court music since its inception.
Short-but-impressive performances occur twice daily (10am and 3pm). Performances are free with entry, which is 20RMB. A permanent exhibition, with excellent English translations and photographs, gives a detailed history of the temple. Ancient Chinese music is actually totally off-the-hook, believe it or not.
Poly Art Museum
Everyone’s seen the hulking glass and concrete facade of the New Poly Plaza (not to be confused with old Poly Plaza, of Poly Theatre fame, directly across the Dongsishitiao station roundabout) but few know that it contains one of the city’s best – if hardly its biggest – museums.
Backed by state money, Poly Art Museum's mission has been to acquire and protect Chinese relics, including 3,000-year-old bronze vessels, some of the earliest examples of Chinese writing and some stunning bronze animal heads that were looted from the Old Summer Palace in the Second Opium War and have since been returned.
Baigongfang
It's time to get crafty. Just a short way from the Temple of Heaven, Baigongfang – literally 'The Hundred Crafts Workshop' – might seem like the ideal place to pick up some decor for the home, but it is much, much more than that. Set up to protect Chinese crafts that are in danger of extinction, Baigongfang harbours master rug weavers, model makers, glass blowers, tapestry makers and many more. They might even teach you a thing or two, if you ask nicely…
Tian Yi's Tomb
You'll have a ball with history at this location. The tomb of Tian Yi, China’s most celebrated eunuch, doesn’t get as many visitors as the Forbidden City, the epicentre of Beijing’s eunuch history for many. Which is a shame because it remains the only fully preserved eunuch tomb in the city, with all its pomp and carvings intact. There is also a Eunuch Culture Museum at the site for added cringey entertainment.
Wild Duck Lake
In Yangqing district lies the 'birding capital' of urban China – the protected wetlands of Wild Duck Lake. You'll be hard-pressed to find a more perfect oasis of tranquillity and natural splendour anywhere in Beijing. Once you're past the duck-feeding wharf at the entrance gate, most visitors stick to pedalling rented four-person quadricycles around the largest of several lakes, leaving the reed-lined pools and marshes of the rest of the park blissfully deserted.
Birdwatchers can expect an abundance of waterfowl, while those simply in need of peace and quiet can enjoy a picnic by a pool teeming with carp, or in a tiny wooden lodge with a view of the distant Purple Mountains. Come early and spend a full day wandering the pathways and experience a kind of serenity you didn’t know was possible in Beijing. Well worth the 50RMB entrance fee.
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