The summer Palace

It is possible to organize a tour to the Summer Palace thanks to the Beijing tour or China Tour. The Summer Palace, situated in the northwest suburbs of Beijing, it covers an area of over 290 hectares.

It is linked with Yuquan Mount and the western Mount by hills and rivers. The North side is characterized by the elegant and beautiful Longevity Hill, covered with ancient cypresses and pines that set off the Grand imperial palaces and temples. The latter are decorated with eye-catching bronze and stone sculptures, scattered with pavilions, corridors where are set extraordinary exhibits.

On the southwest of the Longevity Hill is situated the magnificent Tower of Buddhist Incense, that overlooks the mist-covered Kunming Lake. The immense Kunming Lake, which makes up three quarters of the total area of the Summer Palace. On its south-eastern borders of the lake is situated the tiny island of the Heralding Spring Pavilion, accessible in three different ways, such as: boat services, pedal boat, the magnificent architecture of the Seventeen-Arch Bridge. The Bridge shapes a rainbow on top of the water and it is carved with 544 lions all in different postures. The mountains and the lake next to each other set off stunning scenery just like a fairyland on earth.

Within the summer palace is also possible to rest and shopping in one of the tyraditional shops and restaurant located in the Suzhou Street, which lies in the middle section of the back lake of Longevity Hill, it was built in 1751,destroyed in 1860 and the restored angain in 1991.

The Summer Palace, originally named Qingyi Yuan, or Garden of Clear Ripples, was an imperial garden constructed in 1750 by Emperor Qianlong in order to celebrate his mother’s birthday, during the past few century emperors and empresses spend their leisure time in the location. Unfortunately, it was burnt down by the invading Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860. The Government during the Qing Dynasty started the reconstruction works in 1886 by misappropriating Imperial Navy’s funds, and also renaming the building “Summer Palace”. The latter has been ravaged a second time by the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers in 1900 and further repaired in 1902. In 1914 it was promoted as the private property of the royal family and formally opened to the public in 1924.

In 1992, the Summer Palace gained the award as “the best preserved imperial garden with richest landscapes and most densely constructed architectures in the world”. In December 1998, the UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List and honoured as “ a potent symbol of one of the several world great civilizations” as it is an outstanding expression of the creative art of Chinese landscape garden design, incorporating the works of humankind and nature in a harmonious whole; as the gorgeous treasure throughout the human civilization.

It is strongly advised to first visit tourist to buy the full ticket for 60 RMB (Chinese currency) almost 9 dollars, as it includes all the attractions, the whole park requires a full day visit. The location is easily accessible from different Beijing Hotels as the subway offers a high quality service for only 2 RMB (30 cent one way ticket).