About Beijing Summer Place

Summer Palace landscape, dominated mainly by Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, covers an area of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is under water. Its70,000 square meters of building space features a variety of palaces, gardens and other ancient-style architectural structures. Well known for its large and priceless collection of cultural relics, it was among the first group of historical and cultural heritage sites in China to be placed under special state protection.

The Summer Palace, originally named Qingyi Yuan or the Garden of Clear Ripples, was first constructed in 1750. It was razed to the ground by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860. The Government of the Qing Dynasty started to rebuild it in 1886 with funds that it had misappropriated from the Imperial Navy and other sources.

Renamed two years later as Yihe Yuan or the Garden of Health and Harmony, it was supposed to serve as a summer resort for the Empress Dowager Cixi. Known also as the Summer Palace, it was ravaged by the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers that invaded China in 1900.

Hall of Benevolence and Longevity (Renshou Dian):

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Garden of Virtue and Harmony (Dehe Yuan):

Zhichun Ting (Heralding Spring Pavilion):

Built on the small island in front of the Hall of Jade Ripples, beside Kunming Lake's east bank, the pavilion backs onto a hill and to the south it faces the sun. This position permits a privileged view of spring's arrival, thus it was christened Heralding Spring Pavilion. It provides the best overall view of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, as well as wonderful views of the scenery from the Jade Spring Hills and the Western Hills.

Wenchang Yuan (Wenchang Gallery):

Located to the east of the Wenchang Tower in the Summer Palace, the Wenchang Gallery is the largest and the most impressive gallery of its kind in any classical Chinese garden.
On display in its six halls are thousands of artifacts extracted from the Summer Palace, covering some 3,600 years from the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. The exhibits include bronzeware, jewelry, chinaware, furniture, paintings, calligraphy, ancient books, enamels, clocks, handicrafts made of gold, silver, bamboo, wood, ivory, horn and lacquer, and other miscellaneous items, representing almost all types of Chinese antiques. As one would expect in an imperial garden, these artifacts demonstrate the highest techniques and craftsmanship of their times, and many were once highly important symbols of the state. Also on display in the halls are objects related to the everyday life of emperors and empresses in the Qing court. They are of great historical value and provide some of the most reliable material evidence of the court culture in imperial China.

Yiyun Guan (Yiyun Hall):

Yiyun means the collection of books. The hall was originally built in the 15th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1750) with two side wings, each with five bays. The east wing was named the "Method Keeping Room" and the west one was named the "Nearing the West Room". Burned down by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in the 10th year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign (1860), it was rebuilt in the 12th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1886) to serve as a residence for the Empress.
These were the living quarters for Empress Long Yu when she, as Emperor Guangxu's wife, stayed in the Summer Palace. A niece of the Empress Dowager Cixi, she had the title of Empress bestowed on her in the first month of the 15th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1889). When Emperor Guangxu and the Empress Dowager Cixi died of ill health and Puyi became Emperor in 1908, she was elevated to the position of Empress Dowager under the imperial title of Long Yu. In this capacity, she issued an order to give up the throne in 1911 after the Wuchang Uprising.

Hall of Happiness in Longevity (Leshou Tang):

Built in the 15th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1750), the Hall of Happiness in Longevity originally had two floors. Burned down by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in the 10th year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign (1860), it was reconstructed in the 12th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1886) to serve as the living quarters for Empress Dowager Cixi during her stay in the Summer Palace.

Wenchang Ge (Wenchang Tower):

The biggest of the six gate forts(Purple Cloud Tower、Tower of Cloud-Retaining Eaves、Tower of Dawn Light、Tongyun Chengguan、Qianfengcaicui Chengguan、Wenchang Tower)in the Summer Palace garden, the Wenchang Tower was first built in the 15th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1750) and rebuilt under Emperor Guangxu after it was burned down in 1860 by the Anglo-French Allied Forces. A bronze statue of the god, Wenchang, and statues of two followers, the celestial boy, and the bronze steed, were placed in the two-storey pavilion. This tower pairs up with the Tower of Cloud-Retaining Eaves, located on the west bank of Kunming Lake, in which a statue of the Martial God was placed. The twin towers symbolize the support by both scholars and warriors to the ruling emperor.

Wind of Virtue (Yangren Feng):

Originally built in the reign of Emperor Qianlong, this hall is shaped as if it were a folding fan. The ribs of the fan are the steps in front of the hall, which are made from stone slates; its axis is white marble. Hence the folk name "Hall of the Fan Blade". Its official name "Wind of Virtue" comes from a story in the Biography of Yuan Hong, Book of the Jin Dynasty. When Yuan Hong was leaving to take up his new post as governor of Dongyang, Xie An, Prime Minister at the time, presented him with a fan. Upon accepting the gift, Yuan replied: "I will fan the wind of virtue to comfort the common people", indicating that he would make good policies to appease the common people.