Summer Palace (Beijing)

Summer Palace is located in Haidian District, Beijing, China. It is also known as “Yi He Yuan”. I have been there twice. I did have a wonderful time there. History of the Summer Place --------------------------------------- The initial construction of the Summer Palace began in 1750. Emperor Qian Long (Qing dynasty) built the garden to celebrate his mother’s birthday. The construction took 15 years to complete. In 1860, the Anglo-French Allied Forces invaded Beijing and set fire to the garden. In 1888, Empress Dowager Ci Xi made the garden restored with the funds embezzled from the Imperial ... more

Giggle, giggle, chattter, chatter and lots of pointing. We were the centre of attraction for the hordes of little Chinese school children as they walked in orderly fashion around the Summer Palace, near Beijing in China. This was the first time I realised we were foreigners in their country. The little ones, were very amused at our small party of three Kiwi's (New Zealanders) and they showed us in no uncertain terms that we were a bit of a rarity when we visited, to learn more about their Chinese rulers' way of life. The Summer Palace is an attraction where being fit and able to walk long ... more

The Summer Palace is quite exceptional and a must for all visitors to Beijing. I went there as part of a tour so I was not allowed the pleasure of an unhurried visit and one where I could spend my time leisurely. But what a place and it is one I shall not forget in a hurry. It has a beautiful lake and wondrous buildings to enjoy but, before you go do make an effort to get hold of a guife book and read up a little first otherwise you do miss some of the points of interest. The one thing that did really stand out for me was the covered walkway built exclusively so that the empress would not get ... more

The Summer Palace is probablt the most spectacular site in Biejing after the Great Wall. It is a great big artifitial and there are small hills around it that are made from the ground removed from the lake. There are also some spectacular buildings built around the side that you can walk around. Once you have got to where you want to go you can get the boat back across the lake to the entrance or the small island in the middle of the lake. It is very good and i reccomend you to go because it is very spectacular. ... more