Bìshǔ Shānzhuāng

The imperial summer resort is composed of a main palace complex and vast parklike gardens, all enclosed by a good-looking 10km-long wall. The peak season entrance price is steep, considering the Forbidden City is half the price.

A huge spirit wall shields the resort entrance from the bad spirits and traffic fumes of Lizhengmen Dajie. Through Lìzhèng Gate (丽正门; Lìzhèng Mén), the Main Palace (正宫; Zhèng Gōng) is a ser- ies of nine courtyards and five elegant, unpainted halls, with a rusticity complemented by towering pine trees. The wings in each courtyard have various exhibitions (porcelain, clothing, weaponry), and most of the halls are decked out in period furnishings.

The first hall is the refreshingly cool Hall of Simplicity and Sincerity, built of an aromatic cedar called nánmù, and displaying a carved throne draped in yellow silk. Other prominent halls include the emperor's study (Study of Four Knowledges) and living quarters (Hall of Refreshing Mists and Waves). On the left-hand side of the latter is the imperial bedroom. Two residential areas branch out from here: the empress dowager's Pine Crane Palace (松鹤斋; Sōnghè Zhāi), to the east, and the smaller Western Apartments, where the concubines (including a young Cixi) resided.

Exiting the Main Palace brings you to the gardens and forested hunting grounds, with landscapes borrowed from famous southern scenic areas in Hángzhōu, Sūzhōu and Jiāxīng, as well as the Mongolian grasslands. The 20th century took its toll on the park, but you can still get a feel for the original scheme of things.

The double-storey Misty Rain Tower (烟雨楼; Yānyǔ Lóu), on the northwestern side of the main lake, served as an imper- ial study. Further north is the Wénjīn Pavilion (文津阁; Wénjīn Gé), built in 1773 to house a copy of the Siku Quanshu, a major anthology of classics, history, philosophy and literature commissioned by Qianlong. The anthology took 10 years to compile, and totalled an astounding 36,500 chapters. Four copies were made, only one of which has survived (now in Běijīng). In the east, elegant Yǒngyòusì Pagoda (永佑寺塔; Yǒngyòusì Tǎ) soars above the fragments of its vanished temple.

About 90% of the compound is taken up by lakes, hills, forests and plains, with the odd vantage-point pavilion. In the northern part of the park, the emperors reviewed displays of archery, equestrian skills and fireworks.

Just beyond the Main Palace are electric carts that whiz around the grounds (Y40); further on is a boat-rental area. Almost all of the forested section is closed from November through May because of fire hazard in the dry months, but fear not, you can still turn your legs to jelly wandering around the rest of the park.