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Summer Palace, Beijing

Summer Palace tips and photos posted by real travelers and Beijing locals.

Northwest of Beijing
• 547 Photos
• 325 Reviews

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Summer Palace: The madness of excessive power
  • Tip Rating:
  • solopes
  • Updated By solopes on October 12, 2009
  • Beijing Page by solopes
  • Beijing - China - Beijing
    Beijing - China
    by solopes, 3 more photos
    You will hear the story of empress Cixi, that used the money available to build a naval fleet to build... a marble boat. The war was lost (of course) but she won an extra decoration in her luxurious garden.
    The boat is beautiful, but, looking at it, I wonder: using that money, how big would the fleet be? Maybe so small that it would fatally end in the bottom of the sea.
    Well, that's Cixi's only excuse!

    Another VTer (lozolo) corrected me, explaining that the spent budget was used to build the whole garden and not only the marble boat. It makes sense, but the mistake is already generalized in guides and many sites in internet. Anyway, it's just an economic difference, the insanity remains...

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    Summer Palace: Feel like a King
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  • maria_hz
  • Updated By maria_hz on July 24, 2007
  • Beijing Page by maria_hz
  • The Summer Palace seen from the lake - Beijing
    The Summer Palace seen from
    the lake
    by maria_hz, 3 more photos
    ... or an emperor... The summer palace is really a residence befitting an Emperor or Empress. This huge summer residence - complete with palace, lake, islands, pavilions, marble boat and other sights - was first built in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) and expanded several times. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by fire as a result of fighting between the European forces and China in the mid 19th Century. The famous Empress Ci Xi had it rebuilt with funds originally intended for the Navy but which she cunningly redirected to realise her own plans for the place. It has been said that the most expensive boat in the country at the time was just that marble boat. You can also admire an exhibition of Ci Xi's birthday presents. Some areas have been fashioned according to famous spots in China, like the West Lake in Hangzhou.

    The Summer Palace is, like many other historical sites in Beijing, this one is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and the Palace area is a beautiful example of Chinese gardens at their best.

    This area is huge, and you do well to plan your visit a bit to make the most of it, especially if you are on a schedule. Just walking around will take you a fair bit of time. Our route: entrance - island - boat trip to Marble Boat - Marble boat - pavilions - Palace. This took us about 3 hours and we only covered a small area.
    Entrance to the Palace area: CNY30
    Entrance to the Palace building: CNY10
    Boat trip: CNY5
    We took a taxi from the Forbidden City, about CNY30.

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    Summer Palace: Summer palace - Suzhou market street
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  • extrajoce
  • Updated By extrajoce on January 31, 2003
  • Beijing Page by extrajoce
  • Suzhou market street - Beijing
    Suzhou market street
    by extrajoce
    This street dates back from the Han dynasty, but the buildings were destroyed in 1860 by Anglo-French forces. It has now been restored as a tourist attraction. It makes for a nice scenic walk, offering great views of trees, water and a contrast between the red of the buildings and the green foliage. Take your time here if you have more than half a day at the summer palace, pass otherwise as it is not as authentic and unique as the rest.

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    Summer Palace: Marble Boat
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  • machomikemd
  • By machomikemd on June 22, 2009
  • Beijing Page by machomikemd
  • the Marble Boat - Beijing
    the Marble Boat
    by machomikemd
    the favorite of Empress Dowager Cixi, when it was destroyed by the french in the Second Opium War, she had it rebuilt from the part of the money for the funding of the Chinese Navy!

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    Summer Palace: Summer Palace
  • Tip Rating:
  • herzog63
  • Updated By herzog63 on September 24, 2003
  • Beijing Page by herzog63
  • Summer Palace - Beijing
    Summer Palace
    by herzog63
    The Summer Palace is a nice place to visit for a few hours. You could spend a longer time here if you the have time too. It's laid out real nice with ponds, gardens, and lots of cool buildings. There are tours that can take you here but the local bus is somewhat (LOL you can read about our adventure in the transportation tip) easy and cheap too. Although sometimes packed! I've got more pictures of the Summer Palace in my travelogues.

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    Summer Palace: Summer palace - 17-arch bridge
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  • extrajoce
  • Updated By extrajoce on January 15, 2003
  • Beijing Page by extrajoce
  • Lake seen from the palace - Beijing
    Lake seen from the palace
    by extrajoce
    When you visit the summer palace, make sure you have a walk around the lake to get other views of the palace and a feeling for the atmosphere of the imperial court. The 17-arch bridge (seen here on the left from a palace window) is a classic snapshot, amongst the weeping willows. It harbours 544 lions carved out of white marbles.

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    Summer Palace: The beautiful Summer Palace
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  • MickeH
  • By MickeH on September 6, 2005
  • Beijing Page by MickeH
  • Summer Palace - Beijing
    Summer Palace
    by MickeH
    In the northwest of Beijing lies the Summer Palace. It is a huge area surrounding Kunming Lake with loads of impressive buildings and beautful scenery.

    This place will easily take a day to explore and appriceate.
    Most of the buildings is on and around Longevity Hill to the northeast of the park, but the walk around the lake gives you plenty of spectacular veiws and pavilions and arc bridges as well as lush green surroundings.

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    Summer Palace: A strange wall
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  • shivan
  • By shivan on September 13, 2003
  • Beijing Page by shivan
  • The full team and a strange wall back - Beijing
    The full team and a
    strange wall back
    by shivan
    The full team and a strange wall behind them.
    This is a bit blurry pic because the guide wanted to make it using one only hand and with all the other cameras on the other hand. This is the result....

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    Summer Palace: Summer Palace - Are you fit??
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  • cafank
  • By cafank on November 18, 2008
  • Beijing Page by cafank
  • The concrete boat afloat - Beijing
    The concrete boat afloat
    by cafank
    Everyone knows about the Palace so I'm not going into intrinsic tourist value.

    It's a great place to visit but be prepared for:

    1. HUGE attendances on weekends and especially on holidays - you will queue and take a lot of time getting anywhere.

    2. WALKING: Be prepared for a lot of walking - the sites are located over many acres so you can end up walking for miles - especially if (like me) you got sick of waiting for boats.

    3. FOOD & DRINKS: - They cost more here, and there are lots of packet noodles, not much more for budget travellers; take your own.

    4. TRANSPORT: If you are going by Taxi walk out of the main gate and head toward Beijing (you will know the direction) they are easier to find on the main road if none at the gate.

    5. SUNSCREEN & RAINCOAT. OK You may not need both on the same day but if you end up with lots of walking it pays to be prepared.

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  • Directions: Bus Route: 801, 808, YT106, 716, 717, 817, 374, New Gongmen Special Route, 375, 375, 332, 333, 330, 346, 394, 718, 905, 362, 362, 301, 303. You can also get trains to Haidian district and it's a shortish taxi ride from the station
  • Website: http://www.summerpalace-china.com
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    Summer Palace: Summerpalace
  • Tip Rating:
  • nepalgoods
  • Updated By nepalgoods on February 17, 2006
  • Beijing Page by nepalgoods
  • Bridge over Kunming Lake - Beijing
    Bridge over Kunming Lake
    by nepalgoods
    The Summer Palace is a big area of palaces, pavillons, corridors, tempels and parks. Everything is around a big lake, the Kunming Lake. Most buildings, you can see today, are from the Qing Dynasty. But this place had been a recreation area already in early times. In summer the climate here is much nicer than in the city. Emperor Qianlong ordered the building of many gardens and palaces.

    I loved to go to the Summerpalace and to explore the area, as it is a very big place. Every time I went there I discovered a different sight.

    There are palaces and temples spread in an area of hills and a lake. To see all the different palaces and halls and temples in the Summer Palace you need at least one day.

    This bridge on the pic is the 17 Arches Bridge (Shiqikong Qiao) This bridge has 500 columns with individually designed lions and is 150m long.

    When you cross the bridge you reach a small island with the Temple of the Dragon King (Longwang Miao). This temple originates from the Ming Dynasty.

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