©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 150

Summer Palace & Hǎidiàn

Neighbourhood Top Five 1 (p152) 3 Wǔdàokǒu (p159) 5 Wǔtǎ Temple (p155) Enjoying a taste of imperial Spending a night exploring Temple-hopping your way high life at this glorious the buzzing restaurants and around this shrine-heavy former summer retreat of clubs of Běijīng’s student district. emperors. heartland. 2 Fragrant Hills Park 4 Běijīng Botanic (p158) Communing with na- Gardens (p155) Pushing ture and seeing the maple- through the bamboo fronds leaf-covered hillsides. at ’s top collection of flora.

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For more detail of this area see Map p281 and p286.A 151 Lonely Planet’s Explore Summer Palace & Hǎidiàn Top Tip Hǎidiàn sprawls across a huge mass of west and north- China has a special uni- west Běijīng, so you’ll need to attack it in chunks. versity (民族大学 ; Mínzú You could easily spend a day exploring the Summer Dàxué) for its many ethnic Palace’s sumptuous gardens, temples, pavilions and cor- minorities and the area ridors. Don’t miss climbing Longevity Hill for fine views around it is where you’ll find over Běijīng. From the palace, it’s a short bus or taxi ride some of the most authentic to the Fragrant Hills Park, especially beautiful in the restaurants serving up their autumn. Nature buffs will also want to visit the nearby local cuisines. The hub is Botanic Gardens. Weigong Jie, where you can In the evening head to Wǔdàokǒu, one of Běijīng’s find fantastic Dai (a minority most happening areas. Surrounded by universities, it’s from the far south of Yúnnán the capital’s student heartland and home to many cafes province) food, as well great and bars, as well as some of the most authentic Korean Korean and Mongolian eat- and Japanese restaurants in town. eries. To get there, jump on Hǎidiàn is one of Běijīng’s best neighbourhoods for Line 4 to Weigongcun and SummerPalace &Hǎidiàn temple-hopping. Begin at the Indian-inspired Wǔtǎ then walk south 400m. Temple. From there, walk due west to Wànshòu Tem- ple and then northeast towards the Great Bell Temple. End the day in quiet contemplation at the superb Azure 5 Best Places Clouds Temple inside Fragrant Hills Park. to Eat ¨¨Xiǎodiàolitāng (p157) ¨¨Golden Peacock (p157) Local Life ¨¨Khan Baba (p157) ¨ Hang-outs Lush (p159) and the Bridge Café (p157) ¨¨Salang-Bang (p158) are busy around the clock. For reviews, see p157.A

¨ Shopping Wǔdàokǒu has stacks of quirky clothes  shops for hipster students. ¨ Parks Hǎidiàn has many parks hidden beneath the 6 Best Place to tower blocks; retreat to them to avoid the urban sprawl, Drink especially in the early evening. ¨¨Lush (p159) ¨¨La Bamba (p157) ¨¨Wǔ (p159) Getting There & Away For reviews, see p159.A ¨ Subway Getting around Hǎidiàn is a breeze. Line 4 connects with Line 2 at , then runs north. When the Western Suburban Line is completed in Best Temples the next few years, it will link the Summer Palace, 1 ¨¨Wànshòu Temple Běijīng Botanic Gardens and Fragrant Hills Park to (p154) subway Line 10. For Wǔdàokǒu and Dazhongsi, take Line 13, which also connects with Line 2 at Xīzhímén. ¨¨Wǔtǎ Temple (p155) Line 10 runs east–west across the centre of Hǎidiàn, ¨¨Azure Clouds Temple while Line 2 runs east–west across the south of the (p158) neighbourhood. ¨¨Great Bell Temple (p156) ¨ Bus Useful buses include 331, which links Wǔdàokǒu For reviews, see p152.A with the and the Summer Palace, Běijīng Botanic Gardens, Sleeping Buddha Temple and Fragrant Hills Park. Bus 375 connects Wǔdàokǒu with Xīzhímén.