Best cycling spots in Beijing, Spring cycling routes in Beijing

Spring is just around the corner. Many people enjoy cycling in spring. There are many parks in Beijing that have built cycling greenways to attract cycling enthusiasts. Choosing cycling for a spring outing is a popular way to travel in recent years. So, what are some of the best cycling spots in Beijing?

Three Mountains and Five Gardens Cycling Route

The Three Mountains and Five Gardens Greenway is arguably the Greenway with the most historical gardens and scenic spots connected.

The so-called “Three Mountains” refer to Fragrant Hill, Jade Spring Mountain and Longevity Hill, while the “Five Gardens” refer to Jingming Garden, Jingyi Garden, Qingyi Garden (Summer Palace) and its nearby Changchun Garden and Yuanming Garden, built along the three mountains. The term “Three Mountains and Five Gardens” does not only refer to three mountains and five gardens, but is a collective term for all the royal palaces and gardens in the western suburbs of the city.

In addition, the Three Mountains and Five Gardens area has a deep historical background and still retains many historical and cultural relics, including ancient incense roads, imperial roads, Gongde Temple, Miaoyun Temple, Lake Mountain Ink Painting Pavilion and others scattered throughout the area. Therefore, the Three Mountains and Five Gardens Greenway is the Greenway that connects the most historical gardens and scenic spots. Walking along the Greenway, modern university campuses, ancient royal gardens, newly built citizens’ parks, the scenery changes constantly, as if traveling through time.

Starting from the north at Beihan River, south to Kunyu River, east to Tsinghua University West Gate, west to Fragrant Hill Park. This route connects Longevity Hill, Fragrant Hill and Jade Spring Mountain, Summer Palace, Jingyi Garden, Jingming Garden, Changchun Garden and Yuanming Garden. Cycling here, you can see the Summer Palace, Fragrant Hill, Eight Great Scenic Spots, Beiwu Park, Yudon Park, Danqingpu Park, Haidian Park, Beijing Botanical Garden, Kunyu River, Picking Garden, Fishing Garden, Xiwa Leisure Club and other scenic spots along the way. Why not come here and experience the emperor’s backyard, it’s so big.

City Building Capital Waterfront Greenway

The Beijing City Building Capital Waterfront Greenway starts from Moxidi in the north, ends at Yongdingmen Bridge in the south, and passes through Baiyun Temple, Tianning Temple, Beijing Binhe Park, Jinzhongdu Park, Daguan Garden and Taoranting Park. It is a cultural belt that carries the historical traces of the millennium-old capital, tracing back to the history of Beijing, and is also the largest band-shaped leisure park in the capital. Strolling along the moat, you can see the Beijing City Building Memorial Column, the Beijing City Building Memorial Que, Peach Blossom Village, City Platform Glimpses, City Building Capital, Jinren Nomadic, Xuan Yang Post Station and many other scenic spots. To enrich holiday life, strengthen the body, meet friends, and fly freely, but also to appreciate the past, present and future of Beijing. This band-shaped park built along the river is meticulously maintained with flowers, trees and plants, and the garden features are exquisitely designed. The green space, paths, fences, viewing platforms, everywhere you look you can see the effort… I can’t judge whether hundreds of millions of dollars were spent appropriately and whether it was worth it. On the surface, the design and construction quality of the “Greenway” is still a conscientious project. On both sides is the busy Second Ring Road, but in the “Greenway”, it feels like you are in nature, quiet and fresh. On the “Greenway” there is also an ancient-style covered bridge – Xuan Yang Bridge, a rare wind and rain bridge in Beijing. A higher evaluation of this “Greenway” is that it already has the meaning of “though made by man, it seems like nature”.

Yuanbo Greenway

The Fengtai District Yuanbo Greenway is a demonstration project of Beijing’s greenway construction system. Located on the suburban park ring of Beijing’s municipal greenway planning, it starts from Liuliqiao in the east, connects to the Fangshan Greenway in the west, with a total length of 64.8 kilometers and a design area of 149 hectares. Necessary service facilities such as rest, rain shelters and lighting will be built in the area synchronously, providing citizens with a green corridor for cycling and strolling. The Yuanbo Greenway construction site involves Lugouqiao Township, Changxindian Town and Wangzuo Town. The project will connect the greening, culture and tourism resources in the district to form a spatial layout of one line, four rings and one extension. Newly built roads will be paved with colored asphalt and concrete curbs will be used; renovated roads will be paved with colored emulsified asphalt or two white lines, and the road surface will be imprinted with greenway signs.

To facilitate tourists, 20 rest squares of different sizes will be set up along the Greenway, each with an area of 200-600 square meters. There are 4 visitor centers of different sizes along the way (Liuliqiao Visitor Center, Yuanbo Garden Visitor Center, Qianlingshan Visitor Service Center, Nangong Visitor Service Center) and 5 stations (Dawayaoyao Station, Meishikou Station, Zaoyuan Station, Lijiaoyu Station, Quanhu East Road Station). The visitor centers have a building area of about 180 square meters and a land area of 800-900 square meters; the stations have a building area of about 92 square meters and a land area of 300-400 square meters. There are also 26 sets of rain shelters, 9 sets of bicycle sheds, 137 various signs, 91 trash cans, and 6 environmentally friendly toilets (all attached to the pavilions of the visitor centers and stations). After the greenway is built, it will be like “the car is in the green, the walker is in the painting”.