The Old Summer Palace was once a large palace and royal museum in the Qing Dynasty, known as the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens", but it was reduced to ruins in the burning of the Old Summer Palace by the British and French forces and several subsequent destructions. Today, the ruins of the Old Summer Palace are open to the public as a scenic spot, and are one of the national 4A-level scenic spots and one of the "Sixteen Scenic Spots of New Beijing".
The Old Summer Palace is actually the general name of "Old Summer Palace", "Changchun Garden" and "Qichun Garden", covering an area of about 350 hectares and a construction area of more than 160,000 square meters. Although the buildings in the park basically maintain the original appearance of the ruins, but the garden landscape has been largely restored, if you do not visit the ruins of the Western Building, etc., visitors only need to buy a 10 yuan gate ticket to enjoy the lake and mountains in the park, but it is also quite comfortable, it is the surrounding old Beijing people often come to take a walk. Unlike the Summer Palace, which takes Kunming Lake as the main body of water, the waterscape distribution of the Old Summer Palace is relatively scattered, and it is integrated with the rockery, pavilion, pine, bamboo, willow, lotus and other vegetation in the garden, and the scenery of the four seasons is very beautiful. Among them, the "Haiyue Kai" in the west of Changchun Garden is a large lotus pond, which is especially spectacular in summer.
Although the area of the Old Summer Palace Ruins Park is large, the core scenic spot today is the Western Mansion Scenic Area in the north of Changchun Garden, which accounts for only 1.5% of the Old Summer Palace. The Xiyanglou Scenic Area includes attractions such as Harmonious Wonder, Huanghuazhen, Haiyan Hall, Water Storage Building, Yuanying Temple, Dashui Law, etc., which need to be purchased at the beginning of the joint ticket or then purchased an additional 15 yuan ticket to enter. The ruins of the Great Water Law are the landmark attractions of the Western Building and even the entire scenic area. The Great Water Law was originally a spectacular European-style fountain landscape, but now only a pile of remnant stone pillars remains. The arched white carved columns are a well-known sight in China, and the carved patterns on the pillars are a silent reminder of the grandeur of the Old Summer Palace. Attractions such as Yuanying Temple and Haiyan Hall were originally a combination of the essence of Chinese and Western architecture, but they were as badly damaged as the Great Water Law, and almost only the foundation remained. In addition, if you are obsessed with the grand scenery of the Old Summer Palace, it is recommended to go to the panoramic model exhibition of the Old Summer Palace to feel the original appearance of the Old Summer Palace.
On the west side of the Old Summer Palace is another famous royal garden, the Summer Palace, the preservation of the Summer Palace is relatively complete, the scenic spots are richer, the atmosphere is not as heavy as the Old Summer Palace, it is recommended that tourists arrange a good time, you can walk through the two famous scenic spots in one day. In addition, Peking University and Tsinghua University are also nearby, which also attract many tourists.
Fare:
Pass: 25 RMB
Tickets: 10 RMB
Western-style building ruins (large water law, exhibition hall, labyrinth): 15 yuan
Yuanmingyuan Panorama Model Exhibition: 10 yuan
Opening Hours:
January-March 15, October-December: 7:00-19:30
March 16-April, September-October 15: 7:00-20:00
May-August: 7:00-21:00
