Jingshan Park in Beijing

Why is Jingshan Park in Beijing so Special?

Jingshan Park is an imperial park covering 23 hectares (57 acres) immediately north of the Forbidden City in the Imperial City area of Beijing, China. The focal point is the artificial hill Jingshan, literally “Prospect Hill”. Formerly a private imperial garden attached to the grounds of the Forbidden City, the grounds were opened to the public in 1928. The park was formally established in 1949. It is listed as a Key State Park and is administratively part of the Xicheng District in downtown Beijing.

Where is Jingshan Park in Beijing?

Jingshan Park is located at No.44 Jingshan West Street, Xicheng District, Beijing.

How to Get There?

  • Take bus No.111 or No.124, and get off at the Stop of Jingshan East Gate;  
  • Take bus No.5 or No.609, and get off at the stop of Xibanqiao, then walk to the west gate of the park;
  • Take bus No.101, 103, 109, 124, 202, 211, 609 or 685, and get off at the stop of Forbidden City, then walk to the south gate of the park
  • Take Subway Line 8 to Shichahai Station. Get out from Exit C and then walk south for about 914m (1,000 yards) to the north gate of the park. From Shichahai Subway Station, visitors can also take bus 5, 60, 82, 107, 124, or Sightseeing Bus 3 to the park.

Attractions of Jingshan Park in Beijing

Hill of Jingshan

600 years ago Jingshan Hill was only a small earth mound named “Green Hill”, when the imperial palace was built in Beijing in the Ming dynasty, coals were ever piled here thus it was also called “Coal Hill”. Due to the Hill of Jingshan was just on the central axis of the city, and stands in the north of the imperial palace like a protective screen, it acted as a patron of the Forbidden City.

Qiwang Building

Built in 1750 and located at foot of a mountain, Qiwang Building was served as the place to consecrate Confucius by official school students in Jingshan. The building is composed of 15 rooms and surrounded by white marble stone fence. There were several clay sculptures on the stone wall bases in the north, east and west.

Emperor Chongzhen Suicide Spot

At the year of 1644, the peasant uprising leader Li Zicheng led his troop occupied Beijing. The last emperor of Ming dynasty Chongzhen escaped to Jingshan and hung himself on a wry-necked old scholar tree. The tree was cut off and then in 1996 an old scholar tree with more than one hundred and fifty years of age found in Dongcheng District of Beijing was transplanted to the site.

Peonies Garden

The Peonies Garden of Jingshan Park is the largest one to enjoy peonies in Beijing, and its peonies are well-known especially for high and long-aged plants, big and bright flowers. There are both traditional peonies of royal gardens and other famous varieties such as Luoyang Peony and Heze Peony in the Peonies Garden of Jingshan. About 20,000 peonies blossom in every May and make the park a sea of flowers.

Useful Travel Tips

  • Entrance Fee: CNY 2 (Fee of exhibitions is not included)
  • Opening Hours: April to October: 06:00 – 21:00, ticket sale ends at 20:30; November to March: 06:30 – 20:00, ticket sale ends at 19:30
  • Visitors in wheelchairs can easily enter the park to explore and relax. There are also wheelchair accessible restrooms within the park. However, wheelchair users cannot go to the top of the hill to enjoy the panoramic views of the Forbidden City, as the path requires climbing numerous stairs.

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