Highlights:
The Summer Palace is easily accessible from most parts of Beijing. Head north at Suzhou Bridge on the north-western 3rd Ring Road, north at Sihai Bridge on the north-western 4th Ring Road, or south at the northern 5th Ring Road at the Zhongguancun/Beiqing Road exit. Public transportation also reaches the Summer Place.
Brief Introduction
The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden in China. Its chinese name, YiHeYuan, translates as 'Garden of Nurtured Harmony' or 'Garden for Maintaining Health and Harmony'.
As its name implies, the Summer Palace was used as a summer residence by China's imperial rulers - as a retreat from the main imperial palace now known as the Palace Museum (or 'Forbidden City') - a pleasureground in the countryside, yet near to the city.
The Summer Palace is virtually a museum of traditional Chinese gardening that uses rocks, plants, pavilions, ponds, cobble paths and other garden styles to create a poetic effect between different scenes. When you stroll around the Summer Palace, you will constantly find the area changing.
Occupying an area of 304 hectares, the Summer Palace features hilly and water scenery. The Kunming Lake makes up four-fifths of this royal park. The Long Corridor running east-west along the lake as well as the Pavilion of the Fragrance of Buddha, the Sea of Wisdom, and the Hall of Dispelling the Clouds and Suzhou Street standing south to north on the Longevity Hill are the major scenic spots. The Pavilion of the Fragrance of Buddha, 41 meters high, is decorated with glazed tiles. Its walls were carved with 1,008 niches and images of Buddha. The Marble Boat at the western end of the Long Corridor is a noted structure on water. Built in 1755, the boat, having a length of 36 meters, was made completely out of marble. There is a mirror on each of its two decks to reflect lake water. Sitting before the mirror gives a feeling of sitting on the ripples of water.
The Summer Palace was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1990. The halls, pavilions, bridges and temples, Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, all blend together harmoniously in spite of their individual styles. Ingeniously conceived and elaborately designed, the Summer Palace, featuring the garden styles of both northern and southern China, is justifiably known as the 'garden of gardens'.
Indeed, the Summer Palace represents a quintessentially Chinese ideal of harmony between man and nature.
Useful Tips:
Admission Fee: 25 RMB (Nov.1 to Mar.31) 35RMB(Apr.1 to Oct.31
Bus Route: 907, 375, 801, 808, 732, 394, 718
Recommended Travel Agencies:
Tour Beijing Travel Service
Headquarter:
Room 2001(20th Floor), Building No.01 of Linghangguoji, Nanxiaojie, Guangqumen, Chongwen District, Beijing, China 100061.
Tel: 86- 10-67160201
China Highlights
Headquarter:
China Highlights/ CITS Guilin,No.11 Binjiang Road, Guilin, GX541002, China
Tel: 800-2682918( Toll Free in USA)
800-8793-007( Toll Free in China)
China International travel service
Location:
China International Travel Service Guilin, 11 Binjiang Road, Guilin P.R. China, 541002
Tel: (86)773-2848195
Travelchinaguide:
Headquarter:
Suite 508, Yu Yuan Mansion, No.65 Nan Er Huan Xi Duan, Xian, P.R.C. 7100068.
Tel: (86)-29-852368-688
Toll Free:1-800-892-6988(USA&Canada)
+800-666-88666(Universal except USA)
800-840-9555(China Mainland)
