The first thing you'll notice about the Beijing Botanical Garden is that it's huge. More than 450 staff members, including 350 groundskeepers, work in the garden, which covers 200 hectares, according to Liu Zonglai of the park management office.

China's largest rose garden lies just west of the Donghuan Road entrance. The garden, which includes roughly 500 species of Chinese roses, will come into full bloom by June and last until November, Liu said. The outer rim is surrounded by tulips, and the center has a 10-meter-high fountain, which operates only in the hot season. In November, the newly constructed learning center nearby will begin offering educational videos and public lectures on flower and tree cultivation.

Using the tourist map available at the gate, navigate your way to Yellow Leaf Village (Huangyecun), a re-creation of the village where Cao Xueqin composed the classic novel "A Dream of Red Mansions." Low hedges surround rustic pathways, stone houses and a mill. To help invoke the muse, hard liquor is available at the "village" bar.

If you're no poet and want to head straight for the flowers, you'll save time by taking the mini-train for ?. Or, for the same price, hop on a dragon car (basically the same thing on wheels). The dragon car first passes a little bonsai garden on the right, which is said to include a 1,300-year-old ginkgo. The art of potted landscaping can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty nearly two millennia ago. On your left you'll see a couple of old, brick watchtowers atop some grassy knolls. They were originally built by Qing Emperor Kang Xi for use in war games for his Eight Flag Army. As the story goes, his armies had so much trouble conquering the towers while fighting in southern China that Kang Xi built 64 towers here for target practice. Only four remain.

Both rides end just shy of the entrance to the Reclining Buddha Temple. Here you can get bounced about in a wedding carriage by costumed attendants to traditional Chinese tunes for a rather reasonable ?0. (Negotiate the price first.) On the east side will be a dining hall for hungry travelers. The peony garden (best in May) and red peach blossom garden lie south on Central Road back toward the main gate. Wander west awhile through the intense yellows, pinks and whites of the forsythia and peach blossom grove. Then, angle northward to reach the magnolia grove, best viewed in early to mid-April when the petals reach their full majesty and tiny violets dot the lawns. A small pool in the center seems to be the site of much splashing and roughhousing among the younger visitors.

East of Central Road is a well-tended garden featuring hyacinths, tulips, irises, lilies, amaryllis and buttercups. Japanese maples and Chinese pagoda trees, with their white flowers and their strangely appealing, squiggly branches, are interspersed among the flower beds. June will bring flowering crabapple trees.

Smile pretty for Generals Heng and Ha, the immortal gate guardians, as you enter the Reclining Buddha Temple (?). The rear of the temple houses a recumbent Sakyamuni Buddha, who has been napping there ever since the Tang Dynasty despite all the crowds and bells. Such ceaseless determination inspired Empress Dowager Cixi to write in large bold strokes, "As the moon forever bright" above the door. Right outside the temple, you can play whack-a-rat, the Chinese version of whack-a-mole, and many other carnival games.

Walk past the little county fair and find solace in the Bamboo Forest. On a windy day, the sound of a forest full of bamboo leaves blowing can be most relaxing. Follow the bright yellow trail of winter jasmine

westward ?it's two kilometers from the main park entrance to Cherry Blossom Ravine, a gently sloping gully that leads northwest up into the hills. In the Qing Dynasty, many fine cherry trees graced the path by the creek, but after the imperial era, the place fell into decay, and the trees died off. Fortunately, plenty of peach trees and forsythia remain, while elegant sequoias ?as tall and straight as Hercule Poirot's mustache ? fill the creekbed.

Cross the Red Star Bridge and you're in Cherry Blossom Ravine proper. Head up the flower-strewn mountain path past the teahouse to the creek's source high above. Local villagers ascend each morning to bottle what they believe to be the purest spring water for miles about. (Imbibe at your own risk.) On the way up, don't forget to check out the Pine on the Rock, a pine tree growing out of a massive rocky perch, and Ingot Stone, a boulder shaped like the shoe-shaped gold bricks of imperial days.

On the return trip, cut east through the Pine Garden and you'll be at the temple's west gate. Scout around for the signs (in Mandarin) for "Peach Blossom King" and "Peach Blossom Princess" which, according to Liu, have the most beautiful flowers in the park. Just east of the temple is a traditional Beijing-style hotel offering doubles from ?50 ($18) on up. Courtyards numbered one to three have clean rooms and air conditioning at ?80 ($33.60) a night.

Behind the hotel on a ledge overlooking the entire park, you'll find Halfway up the Mountain Pavilion. On a clear day, the view can be quite photogenic, so don't forget your camera. Enjoy!

The Beijing Botanical Garden, located at the base of the Fragrant Hills, is open from 6:30am to 8pm every day and costs ?. Take bus 360 (from the Beijing Zoo), bus 333 (from the Summer Palace), or direct your taxi to "Wofosi" or "Zhiwuyuan." The trip takes roughly an hour from downtown. Tel: 62591283