China boasts long and profound history of horticulture. Traditional Chinese garden deftly combines architecture and horticulture forming its unique style. The imperial garden is one of three major types of Chinese gardens. First appeared in the Zhou dynasty thousands years ago, it reached the peak in the Qing dynasty. The celebrated Summer Palace, the Old Summer Palace, Beihai and Chengde Mountain Resort are the most representative.

• Summer Palace

The Summer Palace made good use of Kunming Lake and the Longevity Hill and copied the West Lake scenes and Southern gardens, which presents a natural landscape.

• Beihai Park

Beihai Park, situated in the hub of Beijing, resembles the layout of “one lake and three mountains”, a traditional layout of garden in Chinese fairy tale. The Qionghua Island in the park covered by mist looks like a fairyland.

• Old Summer Palace

The Old Summer Palace features elegance and luxury of royal architectures, and the gentleness and gorgeousness of gardens in the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Meanwhile, it also learned from the style of European gardens, integrating gardens and architectures of different style in a harmonious way.

• Chengde Mountain Resort

The Mountain Resort of palaces and gardens at Chengde with its Outlying Temples is the largest existing imperial palace-garden and temple complex in China. It was built between 1703 and 1792. It is a vast complex of palaces along with administrative and ceremonial buildings.