Summer Palace
There are two summer palaces around Beijing, one built after the other. The oldest one dates from the 18th century, when Emperor Qianlong created the Garden of Perfect Purity. Besides a spectaculair landscape garden, it also housed buildings in European (Italian, French) style. In 1860 this Old Summer Palace was stormed and mostly demolished by western troops due to the Second Opium War.
Empress Dowager Cixi set about establishing a new Summer Palace in 1888, following the example of the old one. Rocks and water feature prominently in the artificial Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. The complex highlights include the Long Corridor (a 728 metres long covered walkway parallel to the lake), a buddhist temple complex on Longevity Hill and the Marble Boat.
Visit April 2004
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This involves a nice bustrip (costing 0,15 euro) to the outskirts of Beijing passing its university. The 'new' Summer Palace is awesome. It's a group of buildings scattered on a hill and along the lakeside. I just couldn't stop taking pictures of the Temple of Wisdom. I think I've fallen in love with yellow and green tiles here in Beijing. And this temple has them all over, together with innumerable little Buddha statues (the ones closest to the ground missing their heads).
When I finally wanted a break after gazing at all the temples, pagodas, halls and so on, I stopped for lunch at the Palace's restaurant. After almost one week in Beijing I encountered them here for the first time: can't-be-bothered waitresses huddled together in a corner, hissing mei you when you order something not too spectacular. Enjoy the old-communist ways at the Tingliguan restaurant, with its yellow chairs, plastic table clothes, darkened windows (no lights switched on). It was fun to see all western tourists peeking around the door, and immediately back off, while I enjoyed my shredded pork with green peppers.
The next day I went to the Old Summer Palace, which is now in ruins. It's like visiting ancient sites in Greece or Italy, though the Summer Palace is quite new compared to them. At most of the sites they placed a model to show how the buildings must have looked while they were still standing. They all look like reproductions of European palaces, amazing to see this here.
More photos can be found in the Picture Gallery
Reviews
Mathieu Scheffers (Netherlands):
Hi everybody,
A couple of years ago I studied in Beijing and had the opportunity to visit the Summer Palace for it was near my university. The first time I visited was late September when the weather is beautiful. The site is not overcrowded like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City(actually in Chinese it's just the Old Palace.) For me it was the most beautiful site in Beijing, because you could just make a stroll without tumbling over the many tourists you see elsewhere. During the year I stayed in Beijing I went three times. One time in winter it was snowing and it was possible to walk on the lake as well. You can hire skates also. The last time I went to see it, it was juli and then the weather is a kind of unpredictable and very hot. I had to run for the bus before it started to rain. The nearby Peking University is worth a visit too, it has a big pagoda and is very nice to see. The entry fee was not high. You have to explore the site many times otherwise you'd miss a great deal. The site is easily reached by bus, I think even from city centre Beijing. For non-Chinese speaking people it is easier to get there by cab, although make sure you have a map of Beijing, otherwise the cab driver will take you the long way round.
Last tip, make a stroll around Kunming Lake |
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Rajeev Aloysius (Sri Lanka):
The Summer Palace is a short taxi ride from the downtown area. The main halls (the "scenic spots") along with sections of the long corridor were being restored. One of the most tranquil sections is on either side of the 17-arches bridge, with its multicoloured flowers and boat piers. |
| Date posted: October 2005 |
Ben Pastore (USA):
Even though the Summer Palace wasn't included in my tour, I made it a point to take the $5 taxi ride to the outskirts of Beijing to see it with my own eyes. It was a tranquil setting and thankfully free of tour groups. The dragon-shaped ferry across Kunming Lake with the scenic 17 Arch Bridge was worth the 50 cents to ride it. The buildings are tremendously ornate and if strolling around the lovely pavillions doesn't convince you that you're in the heart of Chinese culture, nothing will. |
| Date posted: June 2005 |
C H Ho (Hong Kong, China):
Although the summer palace was destroyed by foreign army, another palace called Yuenmingyuen was located opposite to the summer palace. I visited both palaces and enjoyed so much at the natural like gardens. |
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Rob Wilson (UK):
Whilst the Summer Palace does not compare to the Forbidden City or the Great Wall, it is still an impressive site. As with the Forbidden City it is over-run with tour groups, but a little bit of effort climbing up to some of the more 'remote' parts of the site will reap rewards.
Whilst parts of the Palace were disgracefully vandalised by Anglo-French forces, it is interesting to note that more recent damage, from the Cultural Revolution (mainly the damage to the Buddhist section) is unrestored (and the blame unapportioned). |
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