BEIHAI PARK, BEIJING 北海公园，北京
Beihai park, in central Beijing, is one of my favourite parks. It is found on the West side of the Forbidden City, yet inside you feel detached from the city, the sounds of urban life barely comes and trouble you as you relax seeing the old women practice some Chinese dancing, watch families rowing boats, couples lovingly cuddling on one of the benches by the lake, people playing music or writing calligraphy on the floor,... there is so much more to it than a simple park with a lake. Over a thousand years ago, it was an emperor's palace and is also known as the Winter Palace. (Summer Palace is in another page).
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woman drawing calligraphy under the gaze of visitors; women in
Chinese style dance, looks kinda like line dancing
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you want boats? yellow ones? green ones?
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it's hard work trying to impress the girls by rowing and making
small talk; at least after marriage can relax with motorised boat
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Beihai is well known to be a romantic place
The lake takes up about half of the area of the park
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Many small temples from which to see the views