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 Navy. The construction had lasted for ten years and after completion, she renamed it "Yi He Yuan", meaning Garden of Peace and Harmony.
In 1900, the garden was plundered again by eight powers—UK, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Japan, Russia and USA. This time, nearly all big temples and halls were destroyed and only one survived.
The palace rotted for nearly fifty years, when it was restored soon after the Communist takeover. Nowadays most of the buildings have been completely restored. People still call the garden "Yi He Yuan".
Structure of the Summer Place ------------------------------------------
The Summer Palace has two entrances, one is the East Palace Gate and the other is North Palace Gate. Most visitors enter the garden from the East Palace Gate.
Summer Palace can be divided into three parts, administration, residence and scenery browsing area. The administration area is the place where Ci Xi dealt with state affairs and received officials. Residence area mainly consists of Hall of Jade Billows, Garden of Virtue and Harmony, and Hall of Joyful Longevity. The Kun Ming Lake and Longevity Hill then serve as the scenery browsing area.
Personal Experience -----------------------------
One of the best ways to experience the park is to rent a boat at the lakeside. There are no restrictions on where you can row, and it is fun to try to paddle beneath the seventeen-arch bridge.
You can get 50% discount if you have a student ID card, or you are in the army, or you are disabled.
Go to travle agent if you want to hear more of the history of the Summer Place when you are visiting the garden. Also, travle agent may get good deal for the admission fee.
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