A Place for All Seasons in Beijing

Besides the mandatory photos in front of the Tien’anmen Gate and the Forbidden City, Beijing is full of places that can serve as the backdrop to the perfect photo. For example, Yuyuantan, one of the city’s most important parks, west of the Third Ring Road, is simply perfect in the Springtime. The park of the Jade Lake is, in fact, famous for the Sakura Festival, or the cherry blossom festival, renowned in Japan. As part of diplomatic relations between the two countries, in 1970, Japan gave China several blossoming cherry trees which continue to flower today, making the park pure magic - every April and May, over 3000 trees transform into clouds of pink flowers, delicate and fragrant. The area of the Sanlitu Embassy in the Chaoyang District, east of the Third Ring Road, is one of the most beautiful in all of Beijing and, in autumn, it is absolutely stunning. Along the thoroughfare where the Embassy stands are lines of trees, the leaves of which ignite with the most intense red, orange and golden hues around the month of October. Many visitors go there to admire the foliage, take photos or be photographed amidst the autumn splendour.