Museum of Chinese History 6512-8986 Located just off the northeast corner of Tiananmen Square, this museum displays more than 9,000 ancient Chinese relics, including bronze pieces dating back 5,000 years. The museum shares the same building as the Museum of the Chinese Revolution. This museum features cultural artifacts from 1919 to 1949.

Beijing Amusement Park 1 Zuoanmennei Dajie Chongwen District 6711-1155 Beijing Amusement Park, in Longtan Park, has live entertainment, rides, a water-screen show, paddleboats, bumper cars and roller coasters.

Blue Zoo Beijing (Gongti Nanlu), Chaoyang District 6593-5263 This international-class aquarium is great for the kids. The main attraction is a 140-yard-/130-meter-long moving walkway that swirls around underneath the main tank, with sharks swimming overhead. The museum focuses on such marine issues in China as the damming of the Yangtze River and the slaughter of sharks for shark-fin soup.

Miraculous Amusement Palace Chaoyang Park Chaoyang District 6506-6382 Wax exhibitions and scenery depict episodes from the famous Chinese story A Journey to the West, featuring the monk, the pig, the monkey and the warrior.  

Beijing Museum of Natural History 126 Tianqiao Nandajie Chongwen District 6702-4431 The largest of its kind in China, this museum contains fossils or specimens of almost all plants and animals found in China.

Beijing Recreation Center Beisihuanzhong Road, Andingmenwai 6499-3434 Watery fun including a wave pool, simulated river, three slides and a “fast slippery dip” (a steep water slide).  A sports complex provides bowling, squash, tennis, roller-skating, disco dancing, billiards and a sauna.