Summer Palace - tips by travel authority Howard Hillman

Summer Palace
travel wonder in China

Why the
Summer Palace
is special

It is one of the largest, best preserved, and most compelling royal gardens in the world. The Summer Palace boasts many different garden and architectural styles of China, yet the whole is harmonious.

Summer Palace
tips & tidbits

Ups & downs

The Summer Palace site has had significant ups and downs over the past three centuries - it became deteriorated or was destroyed then rebuilt several times. Today, the Summer Palace is in a state of beauty and grandeur.

Top 2 visitor favorites

The Summer Palace has numerous things to do and see. Two of the visitor favorites:

Marble Boat (see photo)
The Summer Palace's most famous object. It is neither marble nor boat. It is permanently "docked" on the lake bed next to the shore and is made of stone painted to look like marble.

Long Corridor
A covered walk that runs 728 meters (nearly a half mile) along the lake. Its ceiling and columns are lavishly painted with 10,000 different landscape and animal scenes.

Other popular attractions:

They include:

Seventeen Arch Bridge
Gracefully shaped 200 year old marble bridge

Hall of Benevolence and Longevity
Used for state receptions

Boat ride
On Kunming Lake

Size

It covers some 300 hectares (slightly over a square mile). Shallow lakes compose three quarters of it.

When to come

The Summer Palace is a favorite summer weekend escape for Beijing residents. To avoid crowds, go on workdays.

Name

The Summer Palace is Yiheyan in Chinese (loosely translates as "Garden of Nurtured Harmony").

Location