Haidian District is where famous hills and royal palaces are located, including Longevity Hill, Fragrant Hills, Jade Spring Hill, the Summer Palace, Jingyi Garden, Jingming Garden, Changchun Garden and the Old Summer Palace. The “Three Hills and Five Gardens” collectively refers to the historical and cultural heritages represented by royal gardens of the Qing Dynasty, indicating the aesthetic taste based on thousands of years of traditional Chinese culture.

• Old Summer Palace

Originally built in 1709 during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, the Old Summer Palace (known in Chinese as Yuanming Yuan) was intended as a gift for the emperor's fourth son, Yin Zhen. “Yuanming” means flexibility, moderation and sagaciousness. The Old Summer Palace enjoys great prestige in the world for its large scale, amazing building landscapes, abundant cultural collections as well as extensive and profound national culture. It is honored as a “model of all gardening arts”. The French writer Victor Hugo reputed it as “An Example of Ideals and Art”.

• Summer Palace

The Summer Palace was firstly built in 1750 during the reign of Qianlong Emperor and burnt up by Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860 when Xianfeng Emperor was on the throne. In the 12th year of Guangxu Emperor (1886), Qing Court embezzled funds of the Qing navy to rebuild the Summer Palace as a residence for Empress Dowager Cixi. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Four Great Regions, Suzhou Street, the Jingming Tower and other important tourist attractions were renovated in succession. In December 1998, the Summer Palace was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

• Fragrant Hills

Fragrant Hills is a branch range of the Western Hills which is known as an extension of the Taihang mountain range and “the Right Arm of Beijing”. Early in the Tang Dynasty, Yong’an Temple was built here. Till the Ming Dynasty, there were many temples built here, among which Fragrant Hills Temple is the grandest. Wanli Emperor in the Ming Dynasty autographed the horizontal inscribed board for the Laiqing Pavilion in Fragrant Temple. Qianlong Emperor in the Qing Dynasty was keen on Jingyi Garden in the Fragrant Hills Park. Jingyi Garden is really a great place for you to go an outing in spring, avoid heat in summer, enjoy red leaves in autumn and appreciate the sunny Western Hills after snow in winter.