The Summer Palace
The summer palace, located in northwest of Beijing, is easily accessible from city center. It is the largest imperial garden under well preservation as well as the Top 4 gardens in China.
It is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 sq. km. , three quarters of which is water. The central Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square kilometers was entirely man made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. In the Summer Palace, one finds a variety of palaces, gardens, and other classical-style architectural structures.
The Summer Palace started out life as the Garden of Clear Ripples in 1750 (Reign Year 15 of Emperor Qianlong). Artisans reproduced the garden architecture styles of various palaces in China. Kunming Lake was created by extending an existing body of water to imitate the West Lake in Hangzhou. In 1888, it was given the current name, Yihe Yuan. It served as a summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi , who diverted 30 million tales of silver, said to be originally designated for the Chinese navy, into the reconstruction and enlargement of the Summer Palace.
In December 1998, UNESCO inscribed the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value." It is a popular tourist destination but also serves as a recreational park.
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