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The Summer Palace (Yiheyuan)
The Summer Palace, located ten kilometers to the
northwest of Beijing, used to be a summer residence of Qing Dynasty
emperors and is now a public park. It is an imperial garden known far
and wide for its architectural grandeur and stunning
 natural beauty.
Construction of the Summer Palace started in 1750. The
northern part of the Summer Palace is the 60-meter-tall Longevity
Hill. Its southern part is a wide expanse of water called Kunming
Lake. The whole garden covers 290 hectares, with the lake taking up
four-fifths of its total area.
A cluster of grand buildings adorn the middle section
of the Longevity Hill. On the slope from the lakeside to the hilltop
stand: a decorated archway called Jade-Like Firmament in Bright
Colors, Cloud-Dispelling Hall, Hall of Virtuous Brilliance, Pavilion
of Buddhist Incense and Temple of the Sea of Wisdom. Standing on the
top of the hill, a visitor commands a spectacular view of buildings of
different shapes and sizes down below, their golden roofs glittering
under the sun; the placid, huge Kunming Lake dotted with rowing boats;
a 17-arch bridge that connects an island with the lake's southern
bank; the long, winding west bank of the lake joined by six
 bridges;
and the distant West Hills.
Along the northern bank of Kunming Lake runs the Long
Corridor with a total length of 728 meters and 273 sections. It is
like a necklace for Longevity Hill. Strolling in the corridor, a
visitor sees an endless lineup of corridor stands stretching into the
distance or curving away elegantly at soft angles as well as Kunming
Lake sparkling under the sun. The crossbeams of the Long Corridor are
decorated with more than 8,000 color paintings with Chinese landscape
and historical stories as their themes.
The 17-arch bridge on the southern bank of Kunming Lake
is more than 150 meters long. Carved stone lions, of different sizes
and postures, sit on top of the bridge's stone columns. An octagonal
pavilion stands at one end of the bridge and near the pavilion lies a
bronze ox with its head raised toward the lake. On the back of the ox
is engraved a line from Emperor Qianlong stating that the ox is used
to control flooding of the lake.
A Ming-style street winds along a stretch of water on
the back side of Longevity Hill. The Suzhou Street, 300 meters long,
is lined with more than 60 shops and decorated with archways and
gateways. The shops, of
 different shapes and sizes, are built with
bluish gray tiles and bricks. The marketplace lends a folksy flavor to
the imperial garden.
In 1998, the Summer Palace was added to UNESCO's World
Heritage List.
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