Where Qing emperors escaped the summer heat — an imperial lakeside garden in Beijing 🇨🇳
Seventeenth-century-style pavilions on Longevity Hill overlooking Kunming Lake. The Summer Palace (颐和园) harmoniously blends ornate Qing-dynasty architecture with a serene natural landscape. Spanning 2.9 square kilometers, three-quarters of which is water, this vast royal park is anchored by Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, linked by winding shorelines, arched bridges, and the world’s longest painted corridor. Designed to evoke Hangzhou’s idyllic West Lake, it is the best-preserved imperial garden in China and often called the “Museum of Imperial Gardens” for its collection of over 3,000 ancient structures and 40,000 cultural relics.
Commissioned in 1750 by Emperor Qianlong to celebrate his mother’s 60th birthday, the retreat was originally named Qingyi Yuan (“Garden of Clear Ripples”). It served as a private summer haven for Qing emperors, featuring sumptuous halls like the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity and the picturesque Seventeen-Arch Bridge. The garden suffered devastating damage during the Second Opium War in 1860 and again in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. Each time, Empress Dowager Cixi spared no expense in rebuilding her beloved resort—famously even diverting funds from the imperial navy to finance the restoration in 1886. She renamed it Yiheyuan, meaning “Garden of Nurturing Harmony,” symbolizing rest and peace. After the fall of the Qing, the palace opened to the public in 1924, and in 1998 UNESCO recognized it as “a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design... a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value”.
Today, the Summer Palace is both a historic site and a lively park where visitors can immerse themselves in Qing-era splendor. Stroll through the Long Corridor (长廊) — a covered walkway of 728 m adorned with over 14,000 colorful paintings of landscapes and legends (listed by Guinness as the world’s longest painted corridor Hike up to the Tower of Buddhist Incense atop Longevity Hill for a panoramic view of golden imperial rooftops against the lake. Enjoy a dragon boat ride across Kunming Lake to visit the marble boat pavilion and the charming Nanhu Island temples. Each season brings its own magic: in summer, lotus blossoms carpet the ponds, while in winter a dusting of snow turns the pagodas and arched bridges into a tranquil postcard scene (during the winter solstice, the sunset aligns through the 17 arches of the Great Bridge, creating a famous “golden glow” spectacle).
Address: Summer Palace (颐和园) — 19 Xinjian Gongmen Rd, Haidian, Beijing
Fun fact — The Long Corridor in the Summer Palace holds the Guinness World Record as the longest covered painted corridor on the planet. Its crossbeams are decorated with thousands of intricate paintings – from scenes of classic Chinese myths like Journey to the West to blossoms and birds – earning it the nickname “the museum of colored paintings.”
Just outside the East Gate of the palace is the Aman Summer Palace hotel, set in former Qing-era courtyard houses where VIP guests of the emperor once stayed. Opened as a luxury resort in 2008, it offers exclusive private access into the park. For modern travelers, spending a night here provides a unique chance to experience the imperial retreat after the daytime crowds have gone, blending heritage ambiance with five-star comfort.