Going Underground: Yuanmingyuan, Line 4

“Going Underground” is a regular magazine column in which we explore the neighborhoods surrounding subway stations.

Selling Point
At the junction of two of China’s most beautiful campuses and the Old Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan is the perfect spot to find some shade, meditate, soak up some history and allow yourself some inspiration.

Time Travel
Before it was infamously sacked by European soldiers in the mid-19th century, the Old Summer Palace (Exit B) housed the Qing dynasty government. At that time, the Forbidden City was in fact only used for ceremonies and most officials conducted their business in this palace of pagodas, lakes and gardens. In its current form, the park is still fairly new, having been restored for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Stay Dry
Many an old-timer can tell you stories of the days when Peking University was surrounded by nothing but fields, marshes and ponds. Consider the fact that the characters for Haidian (海淀) both have water radicals, hinting at the district’s aquatic history. When the Mongols took the capital over 10,000 years ago, they dredged the area and created manmade lakes and fish farms, hoping that less water would evaporate from the Forbidden City’s supplies at Kunming Lake. Watch for the big puddle at Peking University and don’t fall into the canal that runs just outside Exit C.

Learn
Around the corner from the waterway is Peking University, a serene campus that easily draws one into deep thought. Sneak into a lecture on comparative literature or law – go ahead, the professors don’t mind. Alternatively, head east to Tsinghua University and sign up for the renowned IUP summer program, where you enter an agreement to speak nothing but Chinese all day (and night).