Summer Palace

Summer Palace

The Summer Palace was built by Emperor Qianlong in 1750 to celebrate his mother’s birthday. It was later used as a summer getaway for the imperial family. Halls, pavilions, corridors and towers intertwined with Chinese gardens represent the pinnacle of Chinese landscaping.

The tower of the fragrance of the buddha is a 3 story octagonal structure with four tiers of eaves. It stands high on the hillside facing south, looking down at the misty and rippling clear water in the Kunming Lake.

The lake covers about ¾ of the Summer Palace, with a causeway imitating the Westlake in Hangzhou.The Bronze Ox is said to have the power to control floods. The seventeen arch bridge is 150m long made of white marble and granite and links the 3 islands.

The Marble boat 36 meters long with a hull made of massive stone slabs.

In 1992, the Summer Palace was appraised as the most perfectly preserved imperial garden with the richest man-made scenery and most concentrated architecture in the world. It was inscribed on the UNESCO in 1998 and has become a park of high cultural value for tourists and Chinese alike.