12 Popular Beijing Activities to Beat the Summer Heat

Shichahai is a public scenic area with open water in north Beijing which is composed of three lakes. Since Qing Dynasty (1271 - 1368), it has been a famous summer resort. In the scenic area, tourists can sail a boat on the lakes meanwhile appreciating the blooming lotus and watching the historic architectures around the lake. Afterwards, you can take a roofed rickshaw to tour the surrounding hutongs and visit the traditional Beijing courtyards. Around Shichahai, also scatter many restaurants and bars where you can taste authentic local foods and enjoy a colorful nightlife.

Huanghuacheng Great Wall is famous as the only underwater Great Wall in Beijing, hence visiting it has been one of the popular activities to do in Beijing in hot summer. There, tourists can take the boat for sightseeing. Both speed boats and rowing boats are available. The Great Wall of Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) is built on the mountain ridges around Haoming Lake. After a reservoir is built, the water surface rise so some parts have been submerged. Now the great wall has been separated into three sections. To provide a better experience of the underwater sections, the scenic area has built a glass bridge over water. The steep cliff, grand Great Wall, and clear lake make tourists linger.

 Recommended Tour:   One Day Private Huanghuacheng Great Wall Hiking from $99

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Gubei Water Town in traditional Chinese style is at the foot of Simatai Great Wall, the only Great Wall section open at night. The harmonious combination of mountain, water and town is rarely seen in Beijing. At daytime, tourists can take the balloon to overlook the whole scenic area. Or see the traditional opera, watch the performance in Riyuedao Island, and learn to make lanterns or kites with families or friends in the town. When night falls, the bright yellow lights on the Great Wall make it resemble a golden dragon flying in the dark sky. If interested, you can climb the Great Wall with lanterns and overlook the marvelous night scenery of the water town.

With a history of about 1,000 years, Beihai Park is the most ancient and well-preserved classic imperial garden in China now. It is composed of Beihai Lake and Jade Flowery Islet. In summer, the lake will be dotted with lotus flowers. Tourists can either row a boat or stroll around the lake to feel the cool breeze, appreciate the beautiful flowers and watch the various architectures scattering among the luxuriant cypresses and pines on the island. The representative architecture is the white dagoba at the top of the islet.

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As for Beijing indoor activities in summer, visiting Capital Museum may be the first choice. Equipped with air conditioners, it is very cool inside. Among the 250,000 pieces of cultural relics, most are unearthed from Beijing including bronze wares, ceramics, paintings, coins, jade wares, silk, etc. These collections range from the Neolithic Era (1,000 years ago - 2,000 years ago) till Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). In Digital Cinema, a film shows the ups and downs of Beijing from a new perspective so that tourists can have a better understanding for the development of the ancient capital. If you wanna know more about the city, Capital Museum cannot be missed.

Shaped like a blue sea snail, Beijing Aquarium is surrounded by the green trees and colorful flowers. There are seven themed tourism zones in the aquarium to display thousand kinds of fishes. In these zones, tourists are able to see the tropical rainforest in Amazon Basin, touch various sea creatures, watch the Chinese sturgeons closely, explore the underwater world to see the coral, jelly fish, and watch the performances by dolphins and sea lions. Suitable for both adults and children and cool inside, the Aquarium can also be a good summer destination for Beijing indoor activities.

Olympic Forest Park is the largest public park in Beijing, covered by forests, wetlands and waters, hence a good place for a summer escape. The main attractions are Aohai Sea, Yangshan Mountain, wetland, Art Center, etc. Tourists can wonder or jog along the paths in the forest leisurely, take the tourist’s bus to enjoy the scenery around or take a boat to feed the flocks of fishes. In the artificial wetland, an underwater glass path is built so tourists can appreciate the underwater scenery.

In summer, swimming is definitely one of the best Beijing activities to enjoy. Water Cube, also called National Aquatics Center, was one of the main venues of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and now is the biggest swimming center in China. Water Park in its south area consists of kid’s pool, tornado sides and lazy river, so it is suitable for tourists of all ages. Also, tourists are suggested to enjoy a SPY at the SPA zone where is equipped with advanced facilities.

Shidu Nature Park is a valley formed by the Juma River with a total length of 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) which is also the only large-scale karst landform in northern China. The scenic area is named after the 10 ferries in history. And each ferry has its own characters. The tourism center is in 9^th ferry where travelers can take the boat, experience water bicycle, or try bungee jumping. Other recommendations in summer are the beach bathing places in the 4^th and 6^th ferries. The third ferry is mainly composed of Southern Grand Canyon with ancient tower gate and various strange hills and Muke Fortress where is said to be the station of the female commander Mu Guiying.

Kangxi Grassland has Haituo Mountain in north, Guanting Lake in west and Badaling Great Wall in east, so the climate in summer is cool and comfortable enough for travel. It is the largest grassland with strong Mongolian customs in Beijing. There are herds of cows and sheep wondering in the endless grassland under the blue sky, and sometimes rabbits, foxes and voles can also be seen. During the day, riding a horse to appreciate the natural beauty is highly recommended. Also, go fishing by the lake or sail a boat are relaxing. At night, tourists can join in the bonfire party to dance and sing meanwhile taste the grilled meat and roast whole lamp. After the whole day’s activities, tourists can have a rest at the yurt. Kangxi Grassland is the best place to experience the authentic nomadic life in Beijing.

If you wanna experience something exciting, visiting Jingdong Grand Canyon is undoubtedly one of the activities to do in Beijing. The scenic area consists of the canyon and Jintai Mountain which are connected by the one-thousand-meter cableway. The Canyon is featured by the steep cliffs and the five distinctive ponds linked to each other by the plank roads along the cliff or hanging mid-air. It would be very thrilling to walk on. In the scenic area, there is also waterfall with a height of 30 meters (98.5 feet), karst cave and lake for tourists to fishing or sailing. Every year from July to Oct, tourists can pick up the apricots, apples, and pears on their own. If tired, huts, tents and hammocks are set in the canyon.

Beidaihe Scenic Area, located in Beidaihe District, Hebei Province, is 285 kilometers (177 miles) east to downtown Beijing. The vast sea, long beach, luxuriant forest, and beautiful wetland attract numerous travelers to the scenic area. Every morning in east Dove Nest Park, thousands of tourists gather to watch the sun rising. In the west of the park is an artificial park where tourists can feed the pigeon. Swimming and sun bathing are also nice choices. Lianfeng Mountain covered with pine forest is a better place for taking a walk and at the top of the mountain, tourists are able to overlook the whole scenic area. Beidaihe Scenic Area is also renowned as one of the Four Bird Watching Place in the World where inhabits about 400 kinds of birds and some are the world’s rare species.