Ritan Lu 日坛路 ; admission free; 6am-9pm; Chaoyangmen or Yonganli

One of Beijing’s oldest and most pleasant parks, pine-tree-lined Ritan was where emperors made sacrifices to the sun. These days, it’s taichi practitioners and kids playing who mainly use the large ritual altar at the north end of the park.

ZHIHUA TEMPLE 智化寺

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Lumicang Hutong 禄米仓 胡同 5 号; admission Y20; 9am-4.30pm Tue-Sun; Jianguomen or Chaoyangmen

With its distinctive black-tiled roofs and an air of dilapidated grandeur, this little-visited Ming-era temple is an oasis of calm in the busy downtown area. The highlight is the Tathagata Hall, with its cabinets for storing sutras and statues of the Sakyamuni Buddha.

SHOP

BEIJING CURIO CITY 北京古玩城 Market

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Dongsanhuan Nanlu 东三环南路 21 号; 10am-6pm; Jingsong

Four floors of antiques, jewellery, ceramics, carpets and furniture are available here, in a more low-key atmosphere than in many Beijing markets. Not all the antiques are the real deal, though, so look carefully before you buy and haggle as hard as you can.

FIVE COLOURS EARTH 五 色 土 Clothing

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Th fl, Bldg 14, Jianwai Soho, 39 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu 东三环中路 39 号建外 SOHO 14 号楼 25 层 2505 室; 9am-6pm; Guomao

Hip tops, skirts and jackets with a traditional Chinese twist. The designer is a Beijinger who incorporates elaborate embroidery unique to the Miao minority in southwest China into her clothes. Most of the stock is sold overseas; you can pick it up far cheaper here.

THE SILK MARKET HARD SELL

With coachloads of tourists arriving at the Silk Market every day, you have to be a very canny shopper to get the better of the vendors here. The stalls are staffed by English- speaking young women from southeastern Anhui province, who will alternately flatter and browbeat you into both buying their goods and accepting a price that is over the odds. Men will be told how handsome they are, women how that top is exactly the right size. And because they do it at speed, you’ll have handed over the cash before you even know it.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14