Tongzhou lies in the south-eastern corner of the Beijing municipality, where the canals that once carried grain from the Yangtze delta reached the capital. For roughly six hundred years this was the busiest inland port in northern China: barges unloaded at Tongzhou, the cargo was transferred to carts, and the last stretch into the city went by road because the water could not be relied on. The Grand Canal was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014, and Tongzhou's stretch is part of that listing.
What survives
The principal monument is the Randeng Pagoda, a tall brick and timber pagoda of the thirteenth century that stood beside the canal and served as a landmark for boats approaching the city; it was restored and now anchors a small temple complex and an open square. Around it, the canal banks have been remade as a long river park, with towpaths, bridges, planted terraces and a waterway used by pleasure boats. A Grand Canal Forest Park further out of town covers a much larger area of planted woodland and water.
The new city beside the old port
Tongzhou has changed faster than almost anywhere else in the municipality: it now holds Beijing's municipal government offices, a new business district and a large arts centre beside the water. That makes for an odd but interesting pairing - a thirteenth-century pagoda and canal towpath on one side, glass towers on the other. The canal promenade in the evening, with the pagoda lit at one end, is the best single walk in the district.
Practical notes
Tongzhou is at the eastern end of several metro lines, and the ride from central Beijing takes roughly forty-five minutes to an hour. The pagoda, the canal park and the new cultural buildings are within a couple of kilometres of each other and are best linked by taxi or by bike. The district is a long way from the city's main sights, so it earns a half day rather than a quick stop; most visitors combine it with the canal-side restaurants rather than making a special journey. Spring and autumn are the comfortable seasons for walking the towpath.
