The Summer Palace, Beijing

Built on a Missing Navy

In 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi diverted approximately 5 to 6 million taels of silver earmarked for modernising the Chinese imperial navy and used it to rebuild a royal garden in Beijing’s northwestern suburbs. She renamed the result Yiheyuan - the Garden of Nurtured Harmony - which the rest of the world now calls the Summer Palace. Six years later, in 1894, a Japanese naval force sank a large portion of the Chinese fleet in the First Sino-Japanese War. The naval budget that had been spent on garden pavilions and artificial hills contributed to that defeat. The Summer Palace was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.

The Marble Boat sitting at the water’s edge on Kunming Lake is either a darkly ironic monument or a historical coincidence depending on how you read the Qing court’s internal politics. It was originally built in the 1750s under the Qianlong Emperor and restored by Cixi in 1893 in a hybrid style with European wooden superstructure painted to resemble marble. Whatever its symbolic weight, it does not float and never did.

Scale and Layout

The Summer Palace covers around 290 hectares, about three-quarters of which is Kunming Lake. The northern shore of the lake runs along the base of Longevity Hill; most of the major architecture is built on the hill or along the causeway between the east and west shores.

The site divides roughly into four areas: the Court area near the East Gate (where official functions took place), the Front Hill and Front Lake (the tourist core, including the Long Corridor and the Tower of Buddhist Incense), the Back Hill and Back Lake (quieter, more garden-like), and the Garden of Harmonious Interest (a small Jiangnan-style garden within the compound).

Tickets and Opening Hours

The standard entrance ticket (park only) costs approximately 30 CNY from April through October and 20 CNY from November through March. A combined ticket including access to the Tower of Buddhist Incense, Dehe Garden (the Great Theatre), Suzhou Street, and the Wenchang Gallery costs around 60 CNY in peak season. Both tickets can be purchased at the gate or through Chinese booking platforms.

The park gates open at 6:00 (6:30 in winter). The interior gardens and ticketed attractions open at 8:00 (8:30 in winter) and close at 17:30 (16:30 in winter). A key scheduling note: Suzhou Street, the Tower of Buddhist Incense, and Dehe Garden are closed every Monday, except on national holidays. If you only have one day and want to see these, avoid Mondays.

What to See

The Long Corridor: A covered walkway running 728 metres along the northern lakeshore, linking the East Palace Gate area with the Marble Boat and the western pavilions. Its ceiling and beams carry approximately 14,000 painted panels depicting scenes from Chinese history, mythology, and landscape. Walking the full length takes around 30 to 40 minutes at a moderate pace; walking it at 7:00, before the gate opens to most visitors, takes the same time with a fraction of the people. Crowds concentrate toward the east end; moving west thins them considerably.

Tower of Buddhist Incense (Foxiangge): The dominant structure on Longevity Hill, a 41-metre octagonal tower standing on a 20-metre stone base. The climb to the tower involves around 200 steps from the base of the hill. Views over Kunming Lake from this point are the best on the premises, particularly in the late afternoon with the light coming from the southwest. Combined ticket required.

Suzhou Street: Built to allow the emperor and imperial household to experience the atmosphere of a Jiangnan market town without leaving the grounds. The eunuchs served as shopkeepers; the empress would “shop” as a commoner. It is now a functioning souvenir and craft market within the historic canal-side setting. Worth 30 minutes if you have the combined ticket; not worth adding a special trip for.

The West Causeway: A 2-kilometre stone causeway across Kunming Lake connecting six bridges, modelled on the Su Causeway at West Lake in Hangzhou. Fewer tourists use this route than the main northern shore path. Walking it in the morning, with the hill reflected in the still water to your right, is the most purely pleasant part of the Summer Palace visit and the most overlooked.

Back Hill and Back Lake: The area north of Longevity Hill is designed in a more intimate style than the grand imperial front. The Garden of Harmonious Interest, a courtyard-garden complex in Wuxi style, sits in the northeast corner of the compound. The Back Lake area has a replica of a Suzhou canal street and is significantly quieter than the southern lakeshore.

Getting There

The Summer Palace is approximately 20 kilometres northwest of central Beijing. Subway Line 4 runs directly to the Beigongmen (North Gate) station, a short walk from the North Palace Gate entrance. The East Gate, which is the main entrance and more convenient for the Long Corridor route, requires a taxi or bus from the Beigongmen stop. A taxi from central Beijing (Wangfujing area) takes 40 to 60 minutes depending on traffic; the subway is faster and more predictable.

Boat Rental on Kunming Lake

Pedal boats, row boats, and electric boats are available for hire from several landing stages on the south shore of Kunming Lake. Electric boats run approximately 140 CNY per hour; row boats are around 80 CNY. The dragon boat ferry operates multiple routes across the lake and between the main pier and the Marble Boat landing, with tickets priced per trip. The ferry is the most efficient way to cross the lake and return to the East Gate after exploring the western end.

Practical Notes

Crowds: Peak hours are 10:00 to 15:00 on any day from April through October. Arrive at the gate before 8:00. Weekends in autumn (late September through November), when the willow trees turn gold and the air is clear, are the most beautiful and the most crowded times simultaneously.

Eating: The Summer Palace’s internal restaurants are overpriced and ordinary. Bring a packed lunch or eat before entering. The Haidian district around the lake’s eastern approaches has decent food options for after.

Photography: Sunrise and the hour before sunset produce the best light on the lake. The Tower of Buddhist Incense photographs best from the Long Corridor below rather than from the tower itself. The West Causeway bridges photograph best in early morning when mist sits on the water in autumn and winter months.

What to skip: The boat cruise from the Forbidden City through the old imperial canal to the Summer Palace is offered by various tour companies as a scenic route. The canal route is heavily developed and largely industrial; it is not worth the additional time and cost over simply taking the subway.

The Summer Palace rewards an early start and a willingness to walk away from the main tourist path. The western sections of the grounds have the same history, similar architecture, and better light in the afternoon, with a quarter of the people.