The Fragrant Hills Park (Xiangshan) is located 20 kilometers northwest of Beijing and not far from the Summer Palace.

The name of the park derives not from the fresh air or aroma in the area, but in the shape of the hills
themselves. If you look close enough, you can just make out the shape of an incense burner at the peak of the
hills. Visitors to the park can reach the peak by trekking up the hill or by taking a cable car.

The hills and woods were a favorite country retreat of the emperors. The building of Temples began here in the
Jin Dynasty (1186 A.D.) In 1745, Emperor Qianlong had a number of large halls; pagodas, memorial archways
and leisure pavilions built and changed the name of the area to Jingyiyuan, which means Garden of Tranquility
and Pleasure. Unfortunately, this beautiful garden was burned and destroyed by the Anglo-French forces and
the eight-Power. Today, only some of the buildings have been restored.

Being richly endowed by nature, the park has 280,000 various trees in it. Among them there are more than
5800 ancient as well as rare trees, which takes up 1/4 of Beijing area. In the park, birds sing, streams flow,
squirrels play with each other in green gaps, and all the things enjoy a harmony with nature.

The various natural scenery during the four seasons makes the park a popular place for
citizens to spend their weekends and holidays. Due to its high elevation and dense cover
of trees, spring arrives late in the area and summer days are always pleasantly cool. The
best time to visit the park is late fall, when the smoke tree leaves turn red, fiery red leaves
blanket the entire mountain, the boundless scene is the most distinguished autumn
scenery.

Various temples and scenic spots are scattered around the hill. Such as the Luminous
Temple, The Tree-Covered Imperial Audience Tablet, Ghost Fear Peak, Incense Burner
Peak, Jade Flower Villa, Cuiwei Pavilion and so on. It is well worth a half day visit to explore
or you can just take a cable to the summit to appreciate the scenery of the park.