Get to know Beijing from a new and different perspective!
Explore this city’s waterways, see how people in ancient time developed the water management system to make this place to be habitable and then became a most important and capital city of this country. Learn how those water systems changes overtime and its impact on people’s daily life nowadays.
Begin your journey at the Guo Shoujing Memorial Hall, where the visionary 13th-century engineer designed the water routes that enabled Beijing to become a political center.
Follow the historic flow of water through the city, past the deep harbor of Jishuitan, the community-filled shores of Houhai, the strategic Wanning Bridge marking the northern end of the Grand Canal system, and the water-warding stone beasts guarding Zhengyang Bridge (buried underground). Wallk through the most fun and energetic hutong neighborhood and see local people doing all kinds of daily entertaining activities, like playing Chinese chess, working out, diving into the lake, feeding street cats, selling Knick knacks.
Conclude your walk at Sanlihe Park, where a revived ancient watercourse connects traditional water wisdom with today’s ecological design. Along the way, gain insight into the logic of imperial water management, the cultural symbolism of water in Chinese city-building, and the human stories formed along these waterways.
Enjoy small local snacks and drinks along the way, such as sugar coated fruits and traditional almond tea(depending on daily circumstances) or take a coffee break, providing sensory connections to the neighborhoods shaped by these ancient flows. End your tour with a local and authentic dinner of Beijing cuisine, where you can try lots of traditional tasty food and get to know another side of the city through its cuisine.