I've lived in Beijing for a total of four months now and I've seen most of what the city has to offer. Out of everything I've experienced my favourite for a while has been the Summer Palace. It presents you with everything you'd want from an attraction; incredibly traditional Chinese architecture, expansive parkland and --- Upon entering you pass through an ornate gate onto a bridge. On either side of the bridge there are stairs leading down to Suzhou Street, a circular path around the river lined with souvenir shops and restaurants. If you continue over the bridge you'll be met by the towering Summer Palace.
The Summer Palace park stretches almost 3 square kilometers and includes a variety of gardens, temples, shrines and a expansive lake. You can comfortably spend a whole day wandering the park exploring the buildings, watching theater and finding a place to sit and relax. On the lake you take take out boats and roam the lake freely or pay for the ferry to take you to the island. On the island there are a few buildings with nice places to sit. Unfortunately those buildings all have souvenir shops in ruining what could have been a beautiful island. One of my favourite places was the Garden of Harmonious Pleasures, a tranquil and quiet garden filled with koi fish.
In most tourist attractions I've visited in Beijing there are a large amount of locals who also go there regularly. If you go to the Temple of Heaven you'll see older men and women all huddled around a seat playing card games or the Chinese game Go. Likewise in the Summer Palace on the bridge reaching to the island you'll find Chinese men flying their kites to impossible heights.
To get to the Summer Palace take subway line 4 to Beigongmen. Leave by exit D and turn left when facing the main road. A through entrance ticket costs 60¥ which allows you entrance to the Summer Palace, Buddhist Incense Temple, Suzhou Street and a Wenshang Gallery. You can get student discount making the ticket 30¥
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