Beihai is a former imperial garden centred on a lake with interesting religious and garden architecture. There's a big island and white pagoda which was built in the 17th century. The giant buildings westward outside are PRC's Ministry of Defence and General Staff, which, to be honest, ruin the scene of the west bank. On the north bank, you can visit some small but beautiful gardens. Beihai is a good place to take a glance at Zhongnanhai (中南海 Zhōngnánhǎi), heart of Communist China (see separate listing below).

Beihai Park is a public park and former imperial garden immediately northwest of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China.

First built in the 12th century, Beihai is among the largest of all surviving Chinese gardens and contains numerous historically important structures, palaces, and temples. Once part of the Imperial City, it has been open to the public since 1925. As with many of Chinese imperial gardens, Beihai was designed to imitate renowned scenic spots and architecture from various regions of China, particularly Jiangnan around the Yangtze Delta. Various aspects of the park evoke the elaborate pavilions and canals of Hangzhou and Yangzhou, the delicate gardens of Suzhou, and the natural scenery around Lake Tai with its famously porous stones. Beihai Park itself is now reckoned one of the masterpieces of Chinese gardening and landscaping.

The present park has an area of around 71 hectares (180 acres) with a lake that covers more than half of its area. At its center is Jade Flower Island (t 瓊華島, s 琼华岛, Qiónghuádǎo), whose highest point is 32 meters (105 ft). The park's lake is connected at its northern end to the Shichahai.