Summer Palace

Save
  • Address
    19 Xinjian Gongmen, Yuquan Shan
  • Show map Close map
  • Phone
    6288 1144
  • Transport
    underground rail: Wudaokou, then bus 375
bus: 332 from zoo, 726 from Qianmen
bicycle: 1-2 hours, along Beijing-Miyun Diversion Canal
boat: from behind Beijing Exhibition Center nr zoo
  • 08:30 - 17:00

Let us know if these details are incorrect

Lonely Planet review

The huge regal encampment of the Summer Palace is one of the city's principle attractions. Once a playground for the imperial court eluding the insufferable summer swelter of the Forbidden City, today the palace grounds, its temples, gardens, pavilions, lakes and corridors teem with marauding tour groups.

The site had long been a royal garden and was considerably enlarged and embellished by Qing Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century. Enlisting 100,000 labourers, he deepened and expanded Kunming Lake (Kūnmíng Hú) and reputedly surveyed imperial naval drills from a hilltop perch.

Anglo-French troops badly damaged the buildings during the Second Opium War in 1860. Empress Dowager Cixi began a refit in 1888 with money flagged for a modern navy, indulging herself with the extravagant marble boat on the northern edge of the lake.

The place is packed to the gunwales in summer. Beijing residents take full advantage of Kunming Lake, which takes up three-quarters of the park.

The graceful 17-arch bridge spans 150m to South Lake Island (Nánhú Dǎo) from the eastern shore of the lake. Cixi visited the island's Dragon King Temple (Lóngwáng Miào) to beseech the temple's statue for rain in times of drought.