China Beijing Summer Palace

The Summer Palace was originally the imperial palace and gardens of the Qing emperors. Also known as the “Garden of Clear Ripples”, it was built according to the design techniques of Jiangnan gardens, with Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill as its base. It is the largest and most well-preserved imperial garden in China, with extremely elegant scenery and many precious cultural relics. It is known as the “Imperial Garden Museum”.Overview of the areas The Summer Palace is a large park that can be divided into three areas: the political activities area centered on the Hall of Benevolent Longevity; the living area of the emperors and empresses centered on the Hall of Jade Waves and the Hall of Happy Longevity; and the garden sightseeing area centered on the Long Corridor, the back hills, and the western area.About three-quarters of the entire park is occupied by Kunming Lake. There are more than 100 buildings with over 3,000 rooms along the lakeside, including pavilions, terraces, towers, halls, corridors, and arbors. Among them, the Buddha’s Incense Pavilion, the Long Corridor, the Stone Boat, Suzhou Street, and the Seventeen-Arch Bridge are all well-known representative buildings and must-visit places when touring the Summer Palace.Boating on Kunming Lake is a great way to explore the Summer Palace. In addition to visiting the magnificent halls and buildings, taking a boat ride on the lake is a relaxing and enjoyable way to see the sights.There are eight boat docks in the park: Bafang Pavilion, Wenchang Pavilion, Yulan Hall, Paiyun Hall, Shizhang Pavilion, Bronze Bull, Stone Boat and Nanhu Island. There are five different types of boats: pedal boats, hand-rowed boats, electric boats, dragon boats and large-scale painted boats.The prices and routes of the boats vary, so you can choose what you want.Dining in the park The Summer Palace is a large area, and it takes at least 4-5 hours to fully explore it.If you get tired and hungry, you can sit down and recharge your energy.There are three fast food kiosks in the garden, located at Zhichun Pavilion, the east nine rooms of Paiyun Hall, and Shizhang Pavilion. They mainly serve daily meals and pasta, and the prices are relatively fair.If you want to get in the mood, there is also a traditional restaurant in the park that specializes in imperial cuisine: Tingli Pavilion, where you can taste food with a court flavor, but the prices are a bit more expensive than everyday dishes.