Earlier today we accompanied our daughter on a school field trip to the Shi Jie Hua Hui Da Guan Yuan (世界花卉大观园) – which roughly translates as the "Beijing Garden of World’s Flowers." 

Having never heard of this place before, I went with low expectations, but found it to be a surprisingly pleasant place filled with an impressive selection of arboretums, greenhouses and floral displays that can rival any botanical garden. 

Not to be confused with the Beijing Botanical Gardens near The Fragrant Hills in western Beijing, this modestly sized, but fun-filled park is located just off the Caoqiao exit on the East Fourth Ring Road in Fengtai District. 

The grounds feature a manmade lake and seven floral exhibition halls with Chinglish names that roughly translate as "The Melon Orchard," the "Flower Research and Cultivation Hall, a tropical rainforest, desert plants area, a tea and flowers appreciation hall, "Quality Flowers Hall" and a "Floral Display and Activity Area."

The entire park is quite kid friendly and is typically filled with school groups and young families. For RMB 20, you can also rent a golf cart and scoot around the grounds – something that the younger kids in our group loved.

Though the East Fourth Ring Road surroundings aren’t exactly scenic, this is a refreshing change of pace for this part of town and an easy spring weekend afternoon family outing.

Beijing Garden of World’s Flowers (Shi Jie Hua Hui Da Guan Yuan)
世界花卉大观园
Mon-Sun 8am-6pm. RMB 50 (adults), RMB 30 (child), free for kids under 1.2m and seniors over the age of 70. Caoqiao Exit, north side of Dongsihuan, Nansan, Fengtai District (8750 0840)
丰台区南三四环草桥出口南四环路北侧