To the north of the Forbidden City lies an imperial garden – today’s public park Beihai (”North Sea” in Chinese– in Beijing, people traditionally call lake “sea”!). It is open from 6 am to 8.30 pm. Entrance fee is 10 RMB. Beihai Lake covers almost half of the park area. You can find abeautiful view from the lake shore or from the island in the middle. Top of the the island is Bai Ta (White Dagoba) the symbol of the park. It is especially nice there both in the morning and in the evening, when crowds of tourists leave the place and it is left to the local people strolling around, playing Chinese chess, writing on the paving with a brush and water,running,dancing and taiji.