The Summer Palace is one of the largest and best-preserved imperial gardens in China, and one of China's four famous gardens (the other three being Chengde Mountain Residence, Suzhou Humble Administrator's Garden, and Persistent Garden of Suzhou). It is located in Haidian District, Beijing, 15 kilometers from Beijing City, and occupies an area of about 290 hectares. Using Kunming Lake and Wanshou Mountain as the base, taking the landscape of Hangzhou West Lake as a model, and drawing on some design techniques and artistic conception of gardens in southern China, this large natural garden is also the best palace preserved from the imperial palaces, which is also known as the Imperial Gardens Museum.

The Summer Palace was originally the palace and garden of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty. It was previously called as Qingyi Garden, which was the last garden of the Three Mountains and Five Gardens built (The Three Mountains refers to Wanshou, Xiangshan and Yuquan Mountains. Above the Three Mountains are the three gardens, Qingyi Garden, Jingyi Garden, and Jingming Garden. Together with Changchun Garden and the Old Summer Palace, they are the Five Gardens. ) Construction began in 1750 and lasted until 1764. It occupies an area of 290 hectares and the water surface represents approximately three quarters.

Before Qianlong's reign, four large imperial gardens were built in the western suburbs of Beijing. The four gardens, from Haidian to Xiangshan, are independent and lack an organic connection with each other. Wengshan Lake, which is in the center, has already become an empty area. In the fifteenth year of Qianlong (1750), Emperor Qianlong spent 4,480,000 liang silver to rebuild Qingyi Garden in honor of his mother, Empress Xiaosheng, taking Wengshan Lake as the center and uniting the four gardens of the both sides. In this way, the current imperial garden area was formed, which is 20 kilometers long, from the current Tsinghua Garden to Xiangshan Mountain.

The Summer Palace is one of the largest and best-preserved imperial gardens in China, and one of China's four famous gardens (the other three being Chengde Mountain Residence, Suzhou Humble Administrator's Garden, and Persistent Garden of Suzhou). It is located in Haidian District, Beijing, 15 kilometers from Beijing City, and occupies an area of about 290 hectares. Using Kunming Lake and Wanshou Mountain as the base, taking the landscape of Hangzhou West Lake as a model, and drawing on some design techniques and artistic conception of gardens in southern China, this large natural garden is also the best palace preserved from the imperial palaces, which is also known as the Imperial Gardens Museum.

The Summer Palace was originally the palace and garden of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty. It was previously called as Qingyi Garden, which was the last garden of the Three Mountains and Five Gardens built (The Three Mountains refers to Wanshou, Xiangshan and Yuquan Mountains. Above the Three Mountains are the three gardens, Qingyi Garden, Jingyi Garden, and Jingming Garden. Together with Changchun Garden and the Old Summer Palace, they are the Five Gardens. ) Construction began in 1750 and lasted until 1764. It occupies an area of 290 hectares and the water surface represents approximately three quarters.

Before Qianlong's reign, four large imperial gardens were built in the western suburbs of Beijing. The four gardens, from Haidian to Xiangshan, are independent and lack an organic connection with each other. Wengshan Lake, which is in the center, has already become an empty area. In the fifteenth year of Qianlong (1750), Emperor Qianlong spent 4,480,000 liang silver to rebuild Qingyi Garden in honor of his mother, Empress Xiaosheng, taking Wengshan Lake as the center and uniting the four gardens of the both sides. In this way, the current imperial garden area was formed, which is 20 kilometers long, from the current Tsinghua Garden to Xiangshan Mountain.

In the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu (1900), the Summer Palace was destroyed by the "Allied Forces of the Eight Countries", and many treasures were looted. It was restored in the twenty-ninth year of Guangxu (1903). Later, it was destroyed during the warlord war and the reign of the Kuomintang. After 1949, the government continued to allocate funds for its repairs. On March 4, 1961, the Summer Palace was announced as one of the first national key cultural relic protection units, and was included in the Cultural Heritage List in November 1998. On May 8, 2007, the Administration National Tourism Board officially approved the Summer Palace as a level 5A national tourist site. In 2009, the China World Record Association selected the Summer Palace as the largest royal garden in China. Furthermore, the Summer Palace enjoys many records both in China and the world.

See the Seventeen Arch Bridge illuminated by golden light

The "golden light through the arches" phenomenon, a natural wonder, only occurs each year around the winter solstice, when the sun shines directly over the Tropic of Capricorn.

Take a walk along the West Levee in spring

In spring, flowers bloom on the shores of Kunming Lake. You can take a walk along the West Dam to appreciate the beautiful scenery.

There are six bridges across the West Dam of Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace. From north to south they are respectively Jiehu Bridge, Binfeng Bridge, Yudai Bridge, Jing Bridge, Lian Bridge and Liu Bridge. The six bridges were built imitating the six bridges of the Su Dam of West Lake in Hangzhou.

Take a boat on Kunming Lake in summer

In summer, you can take a boat on Kunming Lake to enjoy the fresh air while appreciating the beautiful lotus flowers up close.

Enjoy the beautiful scenery along Back Lake in the fall

In autumn, Back Lake has a very beautiful landscape. The leaves of different colors make a very charming picture. When taking a walk along Back Lake in autumn, everyone can take very nice photos.

Skating on the ice rink in winter

In winter, when Kunming Lake is frozen, it becomes a wonderful ice rink. It is the largest natural ice rink in the city of Beijing. It is located in a historic royal garden. If there is anything more worth looking forward to in winter than the snowy scene at the Summer Palace, it must be skating on Kunming Lake!

You can play with single ice cars, double ice cars, ice bikes, electric dog sleds, electric ice bumper cars and electric dragon boats.