Mountain Baihua Natural Scenic Area is dominant in protection of the warm temperate zone ecosystem of secondary deciduous broad-leaved forest in lithoid mountains in North China. It is one of areas with the richest biodiversity of lithoid mountains in North China due to its unique geographic location and typical mountain forest ecosystem. Mountain Baihua Natural Reserve is a multi-functional reserve integrating natural protection, scientific research, educational practice, rational utilization, and eco-tourism.

Located in Mentougou District of Beijing, Mountain Baihua belongs to the Xiaowutai branch range, north part of the Taihang Mountain Range. It is 100 kilometers from the downtown area of Beijing, and is easily accessible. The area under the operation and management of the Reserve covers 21,700 hectares with a forest coverage rate of 70.36%. The main peak is 1,991 meters above sea level and Baicaopan the highest peak, is 2,049 meters above sea level, the third highest peak in Beijing.

Mountain Baihua is rich of animals and plants and is called the Natural Propagation Garden in North China with four vegetation categories and ten forest communities. On plants, there are 1,100 species, 485 genuses of 130 families including 400 species of medical herbs, and 170 kinds of animals including those under the first level of national protection such as Leopard, Crossoptilon mantchuricum, black stork and golden eagle, and those under the second level of national protection such as goral and koklass pheasant. There are also over 50 kinds of animals under the municipal protection.

Mountain Baihua is complicated in topography, landform and geological conditions, which are of high scientific and tourism value. The historical sites of geological movement——“ancient stone sea”, “ice-edge castle”, “rock column on ice cliff” and more, which were formed under the freezing condition between late Pleistocene and early Holocene——can be found.

Mountain Baihua is an excellent place for travel due to its unique environment, beautiful scenery and cool weather. With annual rainfall above 720mm, average temperature between 6 and 7℃annually and 22℃in July, it is an ideal summer resort. This area is rich of water resources. Streams flow in every valley, and clear and unpolluted fountains can be found in the area between 900 meters and 2,000 meters above sea level.

Embraced by mountains, Mountain Baihua enjoys unique scenery and moderate climate. Enormous peaks wind their ways, streams flow in the valley, rare flowers, grasses, birds and animals are living in this area. The tourism resources in Mountain Baihua can be divided into 35 scenic spots in four scenic areas: the main peak area, Baihua meadow area, Wanghai Tower area and Baicaopan area. The famous spots such as the “steep hill path”, “smiling flowers”, “ancient glacier”, “flowing clouds”, “sunrise on mountain top” and “omnipresent light of Buddha” and more, are comparable to those sceneries in Mountain Huashan (winding path), Mountain Yellow (vast cloud sea), Mountain Taishan (splendid sunrise), Mountain Tianshan (ancient glacier) and Mountain Emei (florid light of Buddha).

Mountain Baihua is famous in Beijing, and has been developed so early. Li Keyong, warlord of Later Tang in the Five Dynasties Period, had a pavilion built here out of military purpose. In the Ming Dynasty the Dragon King Temple and Ruiyun Temple were built in this area. Mountain Baihua Natural Scenic Area was officially opened to tourist in 1992. Reception facilities including 300 beds of various grades, restaurants and recreational facilities are available. It is a good choice for sightseeing and summer vacation. Mountain Baihua Natural Scenic Area welcomes all friends.

Located at Huaibei Town, Huairou District of Beijing, Mountain Baiquan is 70 kilometers away from the downtown. One can arrive there by driving along the Jingcheng Expressway or No.101 National Road to Huairou and changing to No.111 National Road. As a park-style natural scenic spot, it gets its name because of hundred of springs in the mountain. In 1999, it was opened to the public.

Mountain Baiquan covers an area of 20 square kilometers. There are many peaks and ridges, ditches, valleys and springs in the region, with the plantation coverage of 95%. Jiujiu Peak, the main summit in the north of the scenic spot, is 999 meters above the sea level. The massif of Mountain Baiquan is mostly composed of white granite and seriously weathered, so many strange peaks and stones have been formed. As it is located in the rainstorm center of Beijing, there are abundant rainfalls all year long. The water scenes of spring, pond, fall, stream, pool, lake and river can be found here. By the end of 2005, seven dams have been built, forming about 50,000 square meters. More than 5000 colorful leaf trees and fruit trees have been planted. Covering about 10 square kilometers, the scenic spot can be divided into three functional districts, namely the recreational and vocational district, the aquatic amusement district and sightseeing district. There are top-rate service facilities which can provide board for 500 people and lodging for 150 people at the same time. There are multiple aquatic recreation projects such as power boat, rowing boat, pedalo, aquatic bicycle, etc. There have been 10 kilometers of round tourist footpath in the sightseeing district. The main sights include: Baiquan Lake, Flying Cloud Falls, Tianhe Falls, Qingmei Pond, Leyu Pond, Zhiyu Pond, Standing Eagle Peak, Rare Bird Peak, Bamboo Shoot Peak, Sky Holding Stone, Buddha Palm, Saint Tortoise Watching the Moon, and Monkey Valley. There are a lot of wild monkey peach trees growing in the Monkey Valley that stretches for three kilometers, which are very rare in Beijing. Golden fall leaf appreciation and picking activities are held in September and October every year, skating activities are held every winter.

Modern Agricultural Science Demonstration Park at Xiaotangshan is a state-level science park, a national exemplary spot for agricultural tour, a center for patriotic education in Beijing, and a popular science center of the city. It is located in Xiaotangshan Town, Changping District.

The park is 17 kilometers north of the Asian Games Village, five kilometers east of Badaling Expressway, and 10 kilometers west of the international airport. It can be reached by many bus routes. It is a tourist attraction of scientific and cultural interest. It has fertile soil and is rich in water resources, crossed by eight rivers, such as Wenyu River, Hulu River, and Lingou River. It also has a 100-square-kilometer area of exploitable geothermal resources. Its construction was the first modern agriculture project approved by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning that integrates agricultural planning with small township construction. It started operating in 2001.

The park covers a total planned area of 111.4 square kilometers, with a farming area of 72.58 square kilometers, involving 54 administrative villages in four towns. Eight sections and one garden has already been completed, which are: 1) a sapling section with industrialized culture of saplings; 2) a farm equipment section that focuses on the production, research and popularization of equipment; 3) a flower section with a flower growing base and a nursery; 4) an aquatic section that focuses on the hatching of sturgeons and the breeding of Tilapias; 5) a processing section that focuses on the processing of feed and food; 6) a holiday section featuring hot spring, entertainment, and gym; 7) a cultivation section that focuses on raising mutton lambs; 8) an international farm section focusing on developing high-quality seeds, farm facilities, farm machinery, biological fertilizer, biological pesticide, and food processing; 9) a seed garden focusing on the cloning of plants and the cultivation of vegetable seeds and orchid seedlings.

The central part of the park is full of life, whose omnipresent vegetation is pleasing to the eye. In midsummer, the 3,000-meter-long corridors along both sides of the path are entwined with green vines, on which hang 2-meter-long towel gourds, 1-meter-long snake gourds, and gourds in varied shapes. The 1,000-meter-long corridor teems with cool and sweet grapes. In the modernized smart greenhouse that covers 100,000 square meters, dozens of precious flowers, such as moth orchids, cyclamens, rieger begonias, calandivas, and cymbidiums, bloom all year round. In the greenhouse for displaying new species raised with high-tech, you may wonder at such things as “tomato trees”, “vertical pillar cultivation”, “industrialized seedling production line”, bonsais of landscape style of mountain peak, cliffs and brooks, and ingeniously fashioned lingzhi (glossy ganoderma) bonsais and banian bonsais.

In the special breeding section you will see good-tempered peacocks, na?ve-looking emus, vivacious macaques, pretty spotted deer, lovely ponies, and so on. You may not only get close to them, but also can feed them.

Mei Lanfang Memorial is one of the historic sites under the protection by Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage. Located in No.9 Huguosi Street, Xicheng District, it is easily accessible. It used to be the residence of Mei Lanfang. After Mei died, his wife Fu Zhifang and his sons and daughters donated to the state his large collection of materials and literature about Chinese operas. In 1984 preparations started to be made for setting up the memorial, which was officially open to the public in Oct. 1986.

Mei Lanfang (1898-1961), whose hometown was in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, was a renowned Peking opera actor, the head of the four top players of female roles. He started his training as an actor at the age of eight, and at eleven he made his debut. Over the years he created a school of his own called the Mei school, which is known as one of the three major schools of opera acting in the world. When Beijing fell to Japanese invaders, he grew a moustache (actors playing female roles cannot have moustaches) to show that he would never act under the rule of the puppet government. After the People's Republic was founded, he held such posts as president of the National Peking Opera Theatre, president of the Institute for Research of Chinese Operas, deputy chairman of the National Association of Literature and Arts, permanent member the Chinese People's World Peace Protection Committee, member of the standing committee of the National People's Congress, and permanent member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee.

The memorial, a typical Quadrangle Dwelling, covers an area of over 1,000 square meters. Above the red-lacquered gate is a plaque inscribed with the words Mei Lanfang Memorial written by Deng Xiaoping. Facing the gate, just in front of a large grey screen wall, stands a bust of Mei Lanfang. Before the small screen wall inside the screen door are four stone stools carved with flower patterns and a granite pool. The houses in the east, west, and north have corridors supported by red-lacquered round pillars; the eaves of the corridors are painted with brightly colored patterns. In the courtyard grow two persimmon trees and two crabapple trees, symbols of peace. It was in this secluded, comfortable little courtyard that Mei Lanfang spent his last ten years.

The memorial has two parts. One part——the courtyard, the living room, the study, and the bedroom——is furnished the same way as it was before Mei died. The other part consists of three exhibition halls outside the courtyard. One of them displays a number of pictures and photos of Mei's life as an artist and social activist. The other two halls house exhibitions with regularly changed themes. Since its opening, the memorial hall has become a window to the culture of Chinese operas, Mei's artistic achievements, and traditional Chinese culture.

Address: No.9 Huguosi Street, Xicheng District, Beijing

Memorial Museum of Tunnel Warfare Sites at Jiaozhuanghu Village is located in Longwantun Town, Shunyi District, Beijing, at the foot of Mountain Waituo, a branch of the Yan Mountains. Driving along Jingshun Road to Kuliushu Roundabout, then turn right, and driving directly along Shunping Road to the crossing at Muyan Rd, Yang Town, turn right, and driving ahead, you could get there. It is 60 kilometers from downtown Beijing. During the War of Resistance against Japan and the Liberation War, Jiaozhuanghu was under the leadership of the Jidong (east Hebei Province) branch of the Communist Party. It was the only road leading to Pingxi and Pingbei communist strongholds.

In the spring of 1943, Japanese invaders launched a ferocious attack against Jiaozhuanghu. To fight them, local soldiers and civilians, led by the Communist Party, creatively invented the tunnel warfare according to the local situation. At first the tunnels they made could only hold one or a couple of persons; later they came to connect every house and every village in the area, serving as underground fortresses, with holes for lookout and shooting, commanding posts, and flexible boards to ward off water, poison and toxic gases. The entrances, exits, and shooting holes, hidden in floors, kang (heated bed used in north China), chambers of the kitchen ranges, mangers, walls of wells, or under millstones, were difficult for the enemy to discover. By 1946, the total length of the tunnels had reached 23 li (1 li = 500 meters), and had connected Jiaozhuanghu to Longwantun Village, Tangdong Village, and Dabeiwu Village. Soldiers and civilians used them to protect wounded Chinese soldiers, store materiels, and shattered enemy's attacks for many times, achieving glorious victories. In Nov. 1947, the government of Shunyi County awarded Jiaozhuanghu a silk banner that bears “The Greatest Fortress of the People”. After 1949, to commemorate the glories of revolutionaries and inculcate the people with the revolutionary traditions, a museum was set up to show the history of the militia of Jiaozhuanghu. In 1979 the municipal government of Beijing named it “Memorial Museum of Tunnel Warfare Sites at Jiaozhuanghu, Beijing”, and designated it as a major historic site under municipal protection. Since 1987, the municipal government and the district government have allocated funds for restoring a 800-meter-long tunnel, building and altering dozens of kilometers of roads, and purchased and restored 40 houses involved in the war. In Sept. 2004, a new memorial museum of tunnel warfare sites started to be built, the total investment in which was 12 million yuan. It covers an area of 7,260 square meters, with a 2,000-square-meter floor space. It includes restoring blockhouses against the enemy. It was officially opened in August 2005.

The museum displays evidences of the atrocities of Japanese soldiers and quislings, the glorious achievements of local soldiers and civilians fighting against them, the formation of the tunnels and their features. In addition, tourists may watch an old movie named Tunnel Warfare, visit well-preserved tunnel sites and houses involved in the war, and have “Anti-Japanese War meals”.

The Jiaozhuanghu Folk Custom Village, located closely to the museum, is the first “red folk custom” village in Shunyi, and a city-level folk custom village. It comprises of 55 folk-custom households, with a capacity of 1,000 lodgers and 2,500 diners.