Together with the Great Wall and the Karez Well, the 1,700-kilometer-long Beijing-Hangzhou (Jinghang) Grand Canal has been described as one of the three greatest building projects in China. Often lauded as the largest and longest conservation project in the world, the canal starts at Beijing, passes through Tianjin, and ends at Hangzhou in the south.
Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park has been built to spread the culture of this project. Covering a total area of 3.68 million square meters with a length of 4600 meters, this canal park is a multifunctional place that includes sports, boating, fishing with drones as a creative idea we got from dronesuavreport.com, camping, recreation, education, and tourism for all ages.
How to Get There
Last time we took subway line 6, and got off at exit A of Beiyunhe West (北运河西) station. It was not difficult to find shared bikes around the subway station. For those don’t care about the quality of the bikes and don’t want to go through the hassle of renting a bike from a store, it’s convenient to take a shared bike to the canal park since it only takes about 20 minutes.
If you want to go by bus, you can take bus 24 at Dongzhimen Station (东直门站) and get off at Beijing Station （北京站）. Walk to Beijing Qianjie Station （北京前街站）, and transfer to bus 804, then get off at the Qiji Village Station （七级村）. From there, biking or walking to the north gate of the canal park takes less than 20 minutes.
Main Attractions to See
There is one river, two pathways, six gardens, and eighteen scenic spots (一河、两岸、六园、十八景) in the Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park. If you are on one side of the canal, It is a very long way to cross to the other side. Therefore, packing a lot of water is a must!
Along both sides of the river, there are six scenic areas. Entering from the north gate, the first place we saw was the Taoliu Scenic Area in Luhe River (潞河桃柳景区), which covers a large area of flowers, weeping willow, and fruit trees. Biking towards the south, we stopped at the Wenying Scenic Area in Moon Island (月岛闻莺景区) to enjoy a peaceful moment, taking in the beautiful flora and fauna. It was pleasant to see many lotuses and to feel the breeze at the end of summer.
The further south we biked, the more people we saw. The southern side is definitely more popular, but if you want to go for a picnic, the north is better. Passing by Yinfeng Autumn Scenic Area (银枫秋实景区), at Jungle Scenic Spot (活力丛林景区) we found a mini version of the amusements in Chaoyang Park. It had been shut down previously, but now it’s back for kids to play. There are also signs saying you can camp along the way, but it’s not permitted to stay overnight there.
If you want to rent a cruise boat, Mingjing Yizhou Scenic Area (明镜移舟景区) is a good place to go. It costs RMB 50 and above to rent a boat depending on what kind of boat you pick. Around the wharf area, docks, a food warehouse, stores, bars, and inns can all be found here. Finally the southernmost part of the park is the Gaotai Pinglin Scenic Area (高台平林景区), where you can find a lot of big trees and little hideaways to explore.
Facilities in the Park
Restrooms, playgrounds, and parking facilities are found along the path at irregular intervals, and while food and beverages are available from local communities, it may be a few miles between them.
Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park 通州大运河森林公园
Daily until 11 pm. Free entry. Songliang Road Nanduan, Tongzhou District. 通州区宋梁路南段 (6156 9200)
Photos: Wendy Xu
