Summer Palace------A Masterpiece of Chinese Landscape Garden Design

The Summer Palace is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing, China. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three-quarters of which is water.

The Summer Palace is located northwest of Beijing's center in Haidian District, between the Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads. Head north at Suzhou Bridge on the north-western 3rd Ring Road, north at Sihai Bridge on the north-western 4th Ring Road, or south at the northern 5th Ring Road at the Zhongguancun/Beiqing Road exit. Public transportation also serves the Summer Palace.

Located about 20 kilometers northwest of the city centre, the Summer Palace is one of the finest sights of Beijing. It has a area of 3.4 square kilometers, three-fourths of which is covered with shallow lakes. Summer Palace has a history of over 800 years old and originally was used as a summer residence for the royal family.

Facing the East Palace Gate is the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity. It was first built in 1750. In the middle of the hall stands a throne carved with a design of nine dragons. Pair of fans made of peacock feathers was put up by the side of the throne to give a graceful atmosphere.

 

Lying behind the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity is the Hall of Joy and Longevity. It was the residential area, which consists mainly of three quadrangles of one-story houses. On displays are imperial seats, long shaft fans, embroidery pieces, large porcelain fruits plates and gold plated bronze burners.

The most beautiful part of the Summer Palace is dominated by the Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. Between the two is the Long Corridor. It is 728 meters long and divided into 273 sections, with pavilions as connevtors. In 1990, this covered walkway was listed as the longest Painted Corridor in the Guinness book of the world Records. Most of paintings are of human figures and houses, flowers and birds, mountains and rivers, vivid and delicate. There are over 2000 paintings depicting the scenes from the Chinese classic novels, historical records,folk tales, which are telling the 5000 years history of China.

The Longevity Hill is covered by green trees with bulidings and pavilions among them. the Tower of Buddhist Incense, the highest building inside the summer palace lies in the top of the Longevity Hill. this tower used to be a palce for the emperors and the empresses to pray.

Kuming Lake occupies most of the area of the park. There in the water is the Southern Lake Island, on which stands the Temple of the Dragon King. The Seventeen-arch Birdge, which is 150 meters long, 8 meters wide, conects the island to the eastern lakeshore.

In designing, eight principles of the classic Chinese garden are observed here, that is the, interest of seasons, interest of water, interest of bridges, interest of calligraphy, interest of pavilions, interest of paintings, interest of walkways, interest of intimations. All these made it a dream garden.

In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value." It is a popular tourist destination but also serves as a recreational park.

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