Splash From The Past: Take A Boat Cruise on Guo Shoujing's Waterways

Amid the vast swaths of tar and sprawling concrete landscapes that make up Beijing, a historical network of waterways weaves its way. Hidden canals, lost streams, preserved moats and renovated aqueducts in many cases flow right outside our doorsteps, offering quiet pathways for evening strolls, and quays from which one may board a breezy Sunday morning boat cruise.

The story of Beijing’s water begins with the capricious Yongding River an industrious Yuan Dynasty scientist and astronomer who went by the name of Guo Shoujing, who created the river for the cities' canals. Flowing to the west of the city, the Yongding derives its name from a tendency to flood and wreak havoc on the villages and farms which thrived along its banks. The name “Yongding,” or stability, was given in the hopes of appeasing whatever supernatural force caused it to flood.

These waterways are hard to miss for even newcomers to the city. After 700 years, Guo Shoujing’s canals are still an integral part of Beijing’s water diversion systems. These canals and rivers offer some nice views for those who set out to find them. And it’s even been suggested that a “water taxi” system be developed along some of these waterways to help ease the messy traffic on roads. Can it be done? We’re all aboard, but let’s not wait on it.

Meanwhile, you can check out the waterways by taking any number of boat cruises that are offered during Beijing's warm months:

From April to October, all of Beijing’s boat cruises converge on Changhe River to end their voyage at the Ruyi Gate
of the Summer Palace. The most well-known route is nine kilometers long, following the south Changhe from the Huangdichuan Wharf just north of Beijing Exhibition Center and east of Beijing Zoo and Zizhuyuan Park.

This was a popular voyage for Qing royalty traveling west to escape the summer heat and has become a popular tourist activity. It is also an option to get on boats from quays at Beijing Zoo and Zizhuyuan Park. Tours leave Huangdichuan Wharf at 9.30am, 1pm, and 3.30pm. Return boats from the Summer Palace leave at 10.45am and 2.15pm.

A second cruise option is to get on the boat a little further south at Bayi Lake in Yuyuantan. This 10-kilometer tour takes the Kunyu River up past the old CCTV television tower and through Beihai Park to join the Changhe into Kunming Lake. Expect a one-way journey to take 50 minutes and about two hours for a return trip.

Bayi Lake has boats leaving for the Summer Palace at 8am, 9am, 10am, 1pm, 3pm and 4.30pm. Boats from the Summer Palace back to Yuyuantan leave at 9.05am, 10.05am, 11.05am, 2.05pm and 4.05pm.

Prices for these tours depend on the operator and can vary from RMB 30-150 depending on which quay you depart from and what package you choose – many boat trips include tickets for the Summer Palace Exhibition Center and other tourist attractions.

To get further out of the city, Wharf Two of Tongzhou Canal Park offers 18-kilometer boat tours that explain the history of the Grand Canal and the development of the suburb.

For more information, check out Tour Beijing.

Read more about Beijing's waterways in the Beijinger's July magazine.