GardenThe Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan & the Western Hills
FRAGRANT HILLS PARK (XIANGSHAN) · XIANGSHAN GONGYUAN
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VERIFIED2026.09.15The Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan & the Western Hills · 39.990°N 116.190°E
TicketedClosure day
The imperial mountain park at the western edge of the city — 188 hectares rising to the 575 m Incense Burner Peak, a Jin-dynasty retreat from 1186 that Qianlong walled as the Garden of Tranquil Pleasure in 1745, burnt twice by foreign armies and opened as a public park in 1956. Beijingers know it for one thing: the smoke-tree leaves that turn red in late October and bring the biggest weekend crowds outside the centre. Off-season it is a ¥10 (¥5 in winter) hill walk with a chairlift, the temple where Mao lived in the spring of 1949, and Biyun Temple's diamond-throne pagoda inside the same wall on a ¥15 combined ticket.
EntranceWestern Suburban tram (Xijiao Line) from Bagou (Line 10) to Xiangshan terminus, then 1 km on foot or shuttle to the east gate; or Line 4 Beigongmen and bus 331/563 to the gate
Last verified 2026-09-15
How to book
Gate windows sell on the day, red-leaf season included (park statement, Oct 2023); the park recommends buying ahead on its WeChat official account and coming Monday-Thursday. Municipal '畅游公园' platform also sells onlineVerified · 2026-09Source ↗
ID details
Real-name entry; passports are accepted. Real-name ticket, passport accepted: the park's notice has foreign and HK/Macau/Taiwan visitors book on the '香山公园' WeChat service account and show the passport (or travel permit) used to book at the gate, one ticket per document per day (park notice, Apr 2020, Municipal Park Administration site); gate-window tickets carry no published ID rule
Beat the crowds
Mid-October to mid-November weekends are the crush — the tram queues at Bagou and the chairlift line run to an hour; go on a weekday, arrive by 8:00, or come in April for the blossom and September for empty paths. Winter after snow is the local secret (the 'clear snow on the western hills' of the old eight views).
Language
Bilingual signs on the main paths and at the temples; the chairlift and the Shuangqing Villa exhibition are Chinese. Enquiries 010-62591222 (tourism-bureau page).