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A Walking Tour of Beijing - The Northern Route

1. Temple of Earth
2. Chengxian Street
3. Jiu Dao Wan

For a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, make your starting point the Temple of Earth, close to Yonghegong (Lama Temple) Subway Station. The scenic Temple of Earth is where feudal emperors held memorial ceremonies to the earth. Part of the beauty of the venue is its fine collection of ancient cypresses. There many stories of historical and archaeological interest.

The Temple area is also a good place to soak in an overall relaxed atmosphere, a site that inspires and is conducive to spiritual renewal. Of equal appeal is the nearby Lama Temple, details of which can be found in any Beijing guidebook. It too has a rich history well worth any visitor's attention.

You will find the main entrance to the Lama Temple opposite the junction to Chengxian Street, a lengthy thoroughfare that boasts the only remaining historic memorial archway of its kind in the city. Chengxian also contains the Confucian Temple, Capital Library, fascinating steles and a well-preserved traditional courtyard house or siheyuan.

The library, with excellent reading rooms, was in part built with materials from the Confucian Temple. You can gain free admission to the temple simply by visiting the library first. While this is a huge and fascinating repository, the temple has greater visual and atmospheric appeal, not least due to its wealth of stone memorial archways and tables; the small bridge over a delightful stream; pavilions and terraced halls; and a lengthy corridor that also calls for your camera to be brought into action.

Walk north along Beixinqiao Dajie, which runs close to the Lama Temple, and you will come across numerous hutongs, also worth photographing. Residents here will direct you to a particular hutong called Nine Turns (jiu dao wan) because of its twists and turns. But its main appeal consists in the fine array of old courtyard houses that have now become the compounds of many extended families. Most of these households are hospitable to visitors, and pleased if you wish to get an idea of their daily lives.