Located northwest of Beijing, the Summer Palace was a royal garden during the Qing Dynasty, formerly known as the Qingyi Garden, and was connected to the Old Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is a landscape garden in the style of the south of the Yangtze River, which has undergone many times of destruction and restoration, and is now a national 5A-level scenic spot, as well as the largest and most well-preserved ancient Chinese imperial garden.
The Summer Palace covers an area of nearly 300 hectares, and the layout of the park can be roughly divided into three parts: administrative area, living area and tourist area, and the tour style is also diverse. The attractions of the Summer Palace are mainly concentrated in the north, and it is ideal to enter the park from the North Palace Gate and the East Palace Gate. If you enter from the North Palace Gate, you can visit the south through Suzhou Street, the Four Great Continents, the Buddha Xiang Pavilion, the Paiyun Palace, the long corridor to the stone boat, and then take a boat to the South Lake, pass through the Seventeen Hole Bridge and the Bronze Bull to the east embankment of Kunming Lake, and then go north to visit the Wenchang Temple, Yulan Hall, Renshou Palace, etc., and then go out from the East Palace Gate, so that you can visit most of the important scenic spots in about three hours.
If you enter the Summer Palace from the Beigong Gate, Suzhou Street is the first stop. Suzhou Street was built by Emperor Qianlong to simulate the commercial water street of the people in the south of the Yangtze River. Suzhou Street is more than 300 meters long, with a total of 64 shops on both sides of the bank, covering all walks of life, in addition to 14 arches and 8 small bridges. In ancient times, eunuchs and palace maids played the role of shopkeepers and assistants, so that the emperor and his concubines could experience the joy of folk shopping and shopping. Now you need to charge another 10 yuan ticket to enter Suzhou Street, the main shops sell mostly souvenirs, but nothing more than common commodities in scenic spots, there is not much worth buying, Suzhou Street will have some activities and performances in the peak season, but in winter it is lifeless, as long as you stand on the bridge you can see the whole picture of Suzhou Street, so you can choose whether to enter or not.
Wanshou Mountain is the main scenic spot of the Summer Palace, which is artificially built to make it symmetrical. At the foot of the mountain, the Paiyun Gate, the Paiyun Palace, the Buddha Xiang Pavilion and the Sea of Wisdom to the top of the mountain have become a central axis dividing the left and right sides of Wanshou Mountain. There is a promenade at the southern foot of Wanshou Mountain, which is one of the unmissable attractions in the Summer Palace. This summer palace promenade from the east side of the moon gate to the west side of the Shizhang Pavilion, a total length of 728 meters, a total of 273 corridors, along the road symbolizes the spring, summer, autumn and winter of Liujia, Jilan, Qiushui, Qingyao four heavy eaves to accumulate the sharp pavilion. The special feature of this corridor is that there are materials from traditional Chinese landscapes, flowers and birds, classical masterpieces and classic legends on each beam between the corridors, there are more than 14,000 colorful paintings here, each color painting has a very high artistic value, attracting many tourists to rest and visit here, and it is one of the most popular attractions in the Summer Palace. Because of its length and richness of paintings, the Summer Palace Corridor was included in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1990. In addition, Kunming Lake is also a must-mention attraction in the Summer Palace. Kunming Lake occupies three-quarters of the total area of the Summer Palace, and most of the park's attractions are built along the lake. Kunming Lake has beautiful scenery and a wide field of vision, and it is especially pleasant to cruise here in spring. It is worth mentioning that the Summer Palace itself is a landscape garden in the style of Jiangnan, and Kunming Lake was called the "West Lake" in the Ming Dynasty, which is also the same name as its blueprint Hangzhou West Lake. In addition, the 150-meter-long 17-hole bridge and the Renshou Hall used for governance in the late Qing Dynasty are full of highlights.
The entrance fee to the Summer Palace in the peak season is 30 yuan, and the tour time is about 3-5 hours.
Fare:
Tickets: 30 yuan in peak season, 20 yuan in low season
Combined ticket (including Wenchang Temple, Dehe Garden, Foxiang Pavilion and Suzhou Street): 60 yuan in peak season, 50 yuan in low season
Opening Hours:
4.1-10.31 (peak season): Gate opening hours 6:30-20:00, (ticket sales close at 18:00)
11.1-3.31 (Low Season): Gate opening hours 7:00-19:00, (ticket sales last at 17:00)
