First built in 1750, destroyed in the war of 1860, and rebuilt in 1886, the Summer Palace in Beijing is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I have ever seen. Located in the northwest suburbs of Beijing, it’s out of the middle of the city just a bit, but is still convenient to anyone within Beijing. When you’re here, you’ll quickly forget that you’re in a city of millions.
The Summer Palace was originally a destination where the Chinese royal family would retreat. It once had the name Qingyiyuan (meaning Clear Ripples Garden). During the Qing Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Cixi even took up a permanent residence at the Summer Palace. She was the one to rebuild the gardens and changed the name to the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace first opened to the public in 1914 and was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998.
When we entered the Summer Palace through the North Gate, we were first met by a bridge crossing over Suzhou Street. This ‘street’ was designed to model the traditional riverside shops that can be found in Suzhou. Much of this area is only accessed by boat. Unfortunately, at the time we visited, the street was closed to the public.
The Summer Palace has multiple entrance gates. I went with some coworkers and I wasn’t too familiar with the different gates, as this was my first visit. I was caught off guard when I realized that the North Palace Gate has quite a few staircases to climb. Some of the stairs are very steep, and some had stairs that were much taller than others. This is definitely something to keep in mind if you visit. It allowed us to see this beautiful view, but it was quite a hike to get to this point. However, it did give us the opportunity to take in the architecture as we climbed the stairs and meandered through the multiple buildings built on the hillside.
After we reached the top of our climb, we almost immediately began a gradual descent and saw our first view of the lake below.
The Summer Palace is anchored by the large, stunning Kunming Lake. This manmade lake accounts for almost three quarters of the Summer Palace grounds. The lake was once a reservoir that supplied water for the city and irrigated the fields for thousands of years. Now it’s a recreational lake within the Summer Palace that is commonly used for boating.
As I was going through my photos, I couldn’t help but edit the next two photos into black & white.
This bridge goes out to a small island within Kunming Lake. On this island sits the Zhichun Pavilion amongst the weeping willow trees. One can take in the sights from around the lake while on this island.
Overlooking the lake, it’s impossible to miss Longevity Hill and the buildings built along the hill. This is the hill where we first climbed upon entering the park.
I love being on boats of any kind. So I was very excited when we saw that the boats were operating. We bought our tickets and hopped on board for the short ride across the lake.
The boat ride offered some relief for our feet and breezes to help us cool off. It also gave us a much closer look at the Tower of Buddhist Incense from the water.
After getting off the boat, the Marble Boat was quite a sight to see as we turned the corner. This is a decorative building that resembles a large boat. It is said that the people of ancient China would build small boats as decorations within the gardens to provide a place to sit and enjoy the scenery.
There is water all over the Summer Palace, so everywhere you look, you can find another bridge. All the bridges seem to have their own unique design.
Around the lake, there were many pathways all edged with trees. There was no shortage of beautiful sights anywhere you looked.
I couldn’t find any information online about this covered, red bridge, but it was one of my favorites. And I absolutely love this photo with the Tower of Buddhist Incense and Longevity Hill peeking out from the back.
We exited the Summer Palace at the West Gate. This was the last sight to see as you prepare to exit. Even after 3.5 hours of exploring the Summer Palace, there is still so much to see. I hope to go back soon to see even more of this beautiful place.
