Summer Palace an Imperial Garden in Beijing

The Marble Boat at the Summer Palace is not made of marble. Its base is stone, but the two-storey superstructure is wood, painted white to look like stone. Empress Dowager Cixi commissioned the 1893 restoration in a style that mixed Chinese and European architectural motifs, and the funds she used were supposed to have built a modern Chinese navy. The naval budget was redirected, the navy went unbuilt, and when Japan attacked in 1894, the consequences included the decisive Battle of the Yellow Sea and the beginning of the end of the Qing dynasty. The Marble Boat sits on Kunming Lake in placid ignorance of all this, and most visitors photograph it without knowing any of it.

That is a reliable summary of the Summer Palace: extraordinary beauty wrapped around complicated history, most of which is not on the signs.

What It Is

The Summer Palace (Yiheyuan, meaning “Garden of Nurtured Harmony”) is a 290-hectare imperial park and palace complex in the northwestern suburbs of Beijing, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. It is built around Kunming Lake, which occupies about three-quarters of the total area, and Longevity Hill, which rises 60 metres above the lake on the north bank. The park contains over 3,000 structures: halls, temples, pavilions, bridges, covered walkways, and boathouses.

It attracts more than 15 million visitors annually and on peak holiday days can see over 100,000 people enter in a single day. Planning around that fact is the most important practical step you can take.

History

The site has had imperial associations since the Jin Dynasty (12th century), when a detached palace was built on the shores of what was then called Wengshan Lake. The lake was renamed Kunming by Emperor Qianlong in 1750, after the Kunming Lake where Han Dynasty armies trained their naval forces, an allusion that would acquire unintended irony under Cixi.

The major construction period was 1750 to 1764 under Qianlong, when the hill was reshaped, the lake expanded, and the complex of gardens and buildings that defines the site today was first completed. British and French forces burned the gardens in October 1860 during the Second Opium War, destroying most of the original wooden structures. The Marble Boat’s original Chinese-style wooden superstructure was among the casualties.

Empress Dowager Cixi ordered a full-scale restoration between 1886 and 1895. She moved her court here from the Forbidden City and effectively governed the Qing empire from the Summer Palace for much of the late 19th century. The 1903 Treaty of Portsmouth following the Sino-Japanese War, which ended with China ceding Taiwan to Japan, was negotiated against a backdrop of the Summer Palace serving as the de facto seat of Qing power. When the dynasty fell in 1912, the site was converted to a public park.

The Long Corridor

The Long Corridor (Changlang) is the most visited structure after the main halls: a roofed wooden walkway 728 metres long running along the north shore of Kunming Lake between the East Palace Gate and Shizhang Pavilion at the western end. Every beam and ceiling panel is painted with a scene: landscapes, narrative episodes from Chinese literature and history, flowers, birds. There are over 14,000 paintings in total, no two identical, covering every exposed horizontal surface of the corridor.

The paintings were restored multiple times after 1949 and the current versions are not the originals, but the scale and continuity of the programme is still striking. The corridor functions as a shaded promenade; it follows the contour of the lake, opening on views of Kunming Lake to the south and the forested lower slopes of Longevity Hill to the north.

Longevity Hill

Longevity Hill divides the Summer Palace into a front slope facing the lake and a rear slope facing a quieter network of smaller gardens and a canal. The front slope concentrates the major temple complexes; the rear slope is less visited and more atmospheric.

The central axis of the front slope runs from the lakeside to the Tower of Buddhist Incense (Foxiangge), a four-storey octagonal tower perched on an 21-metre stone terrace two-thirds of the way up the hill. It is the dominant visual element of the entire park as seen from the lake or the Long Corridor. The climb to the tower is steep and takes about 20 minutes from the lakeside path. The view from the platform at the tower’s base takes in the full width of Kunming Lake, the archipelago of small islands, and on clear days the hills beyond the western suburbs.

Above the Tower of Buddhist Incense, the Sea of Wisdom Temple (Zhihuihai) is covered in glazed ceramic tiles and figures: thousands of small Buddha figures in niches on every external surface. British and French soldiers chipped the faces off many of the figures in 1860; the damage was left unrepaired, and the defaced niches are still visible. The choice not to restore them is the most direct reference to 1860 anywhere in the current park.

The rear slope is accessible by a path that descends from behind the Sea of Wisdom Temple or by a route from the North Palace Gate. It is quieter, shadier, and has a Suzhou-style garden quarter (the Garden of Harmonious Interest, Xiequyuan) built by Qianlong in the 1750s as a private retreat modelled on classical Jiangnan garden design. The garden within a garden is closed on Mondays and charges a small additional fee.

Kunming Lake

Kunming Lake was substantially enlarged by Qianlong in the 1750s: the excavated earth was piled up to extend and shape Longevity Hill. The lake covers about 220 hectares and contains three islands linked to the shore by bridges. The South Lake Island (Nanhu Dao) is the largest and holds the Dragon King Temple; it is connected to the east shore by the Seventeen-Arch Bridge (Shiqikong Qiao), which is 150 metres long and has 17 arches of graduated size creating a perfect reflection in the still water. The bridge is the most photographed element of the park after the Tower of Buddhist Incense and is best seen in early morning light before the crowds arrive.

Boat hire on Kunming Lake is available from several points along the eastern and northern shores. Rowing boats cost around 80 to 100 RMB per hour; electric boats are pricier. A ferry service runs between the northern shore and the South Lake Island. In winter, when the lake freezes, ice skating is permitted and ice sledges are available for hire.

Hall of Benevolence and Longevity

The Hall of Benevolence and Longevity (Renshou Dian) is the main ceremonial hall, reached from the East Palace Gate (the main tourist entrance) via a courtyard sequence. It is the hall where Cixi held audiences, received foreign ambassadors, and conducted the formal business of state. The throne, screens, and decorative bronzes are original or close-to-original replacements. The bronze dragon and phoenix flanking the throne are deliberate: under traditional hierarchy the dragon represented the emperor and the phoenix represented the empress consort; Cixi reversed their positions as a statement about who actually held power.

The Garden of Virtue and Harmony

Northeast of the main halls, the Garden of Virtue and Harmony (Deheyuan) was Cixi’s private theatre complex. It contains a three-storey open-air stage, one of the largest surviving classical Chinese stage structures, with a trap door system for special effects including the appearance of gods descending from above. Cixi reportedly watched performances daily from a suite of rooms directly opposite. The complex is now a museum; entry is included in the through ticket.

Ticket Prices and Booking

The Summer Palace operates a tiered pricing system with high season (April 1 to October 31) and low season (November 1 to March 31) rates.

In high season: the entry-only ticket is 40 RMB; the through ticket covering the main special attractions (Garden of Virtue and Harmony, Tower of Buddhist Incense, Garden of Harmonious Interest, and Suzhou Street) is 60 RMB. In low season: entry-only is 20 RMB, through ticket is 50 RMB.

Tickets must be purchased online in advance, particularly during peak season and on weekends. The official booking system at the Summer Palace website or through official WeChat channels opens 7 days ahead. A valid passport number is required for the booking; carry the passport to the gate for verification. During Chinese public holidays (National Day week in October, Spring Festival, and the May Golden Week), daily capacity is capped and tickets can sell out days in advance. Do not assume walk-up purchase is possible.

Getting There

The fastest public transit option from central Beijing: Subway Line 4 to Beigongmen Station (North Palace Gate). Exit D puts you 3 minutes from the North Gate on foot. Alternatively, Line 4 to Xiyuan Station (Exit C2) is a 10-minute walk to the East Gate, which is the main visitor entry point with the clearest orientation to the principal sights. The North Gate is slightly better for visitors starting with the rear slope.

Taxis and Didi (China’s ride-hailing platform) from central Beijing take 30 to 60 minutes depending on traffic. The Zhongguancun and Haidian tech district areas to the northeast reduce the journey to 20 minutes. No private vehicles may park inside the complex.

Crowd Strategy

Weekday mornings before 9 am are the least crowded entry window. The East Palace Gate sees the most arrivals; the North Palace Gate (Beigongmen) and the New Palace Gate (Xinjiangmen) on the west have shorter queues. If your primary objective is the Long Corridor, enter from the North Gate and walk the corridor west to east, against the flow of most visitors. If your priority is the Seventeen-Arch Bridge, enter from the East Gate and head south before turning toward the lake.

National Day week (October 1 to 7) and the Spring Festival period push daily numbers to capacity. The park in early November, after the Golden Week crowds leave but while autumn colour persists on Longevity Hill, is the best single combination of weather, colour, and manageable visitor numbers.

Seasonal Character

Spring (April to May): magnolia and crabapple blossom along the Long Corridor embankment; lotus in the lake begins to appear in late May. Summer (June to August): lotus is at full bloom in July, the lake vivid green and pink; heat and afternoon thunderstorms are the tradeoff. Autumn (late September to early November): Longevity Hill’s deciduous trees turn; the reflected colours in the lake at morning are exceptional. Winter (December to February): ice on Kunming Lake; the empty park and bare hillside reveal the architecture without ornamental distraction; boat hire stops.

Practical Notes

Allow a minimum of 3 hours for the main circuit: East Gate, Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, Long Corridor, Marble Boat, climb to Tower of Buddhist Incense, descent and lakeside walk back. A full day covers the rear slope, Garden of Harmonious Interest, and boat hire on the lake.

Food within the park is available at Tingliguantang restaurant (a formal sit-down option at the north of the lake, where Cixi herself had a lakeside kitchen) and at several snack stands. Prices inside are higher than outside. Bring water: the park is large and shade is limited on the south-facing slopes.

Photography of the architecture and grounds is unrestricted. Interior hall photography rules vary by room; signs are in Chinese and English.

The stone pier at Shijiao Fang (near the Marble Boat) is the best position to photograph the Marble Boat with Longevity Hill behind it in late afternoon light, when the western sun illuminates the white superstructure directly.