The Summer Palace located in Peking, the Chinese capital, is one of the most magnificent touristic highlights of China and the whole world with hundreds of guests visiting the palace as part of their tours in China.
The palace was originally built in 1750 during the reign of the Qing dynasty that ruled over China from 1644 till 1911.
During the 18th century China was the strongest empire in Asia in the terms of the wideness of its lands and its financial capabilities.
In that period, Emperor Qianlong, the sixth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, has called architects from all over the world and paid them generously to construct the summer palace as a gift to his mother in her birthday. After 15 years of hard construction work, the palace building was completed to become one of the mosque beautiful palaces and gardens in the whole world that have become an important touristic spot nowadays included in many China travel packages.
The summer palace is located in the Northern Western neighborhood of Peking, the Chinese capital, and it is the largest and best preserved Imperial garden that remained in China. The Summer Palace is one of the most popular highlights of China with many tourists visiting it during their vacations in China
The palace and the gardens do not only combine the power of the mountains with the waterfalls and the beauty of the scenery, but also reflects the luxury and wonders of the imperial palaces and the public houses as well.
The summer palace is truly a fabulous site for all the family members and anybody spending a holiday in China and this is why it was called “The Museum of Gardens” as it is the most famous classical garden in China. The Summer Garden of Peking was added to the list of Human Heritage of the UNESCO in 1988.
The palace is mainly divided into four main gardens. The first is the Eastern garden and that was where the royal family of the Qing dynasty used to perform their political duties. Many members of the royal family used to live in this section as well.
The Eastern section hosts the Ren Chu compartment where the emperors used to meet up with their viziers. There are also suits specified for sleeping, the patio, and the grand theatre. This section is among the parts that are most visited by tourists who travel to China
The mountain of Weng Shan, the mountain of longevity, located in the center of the Summer Palace, hosts many luxurious buildings two perpendicular lines cross the mountain; one from the East to the West, the long corridor decorated with many drawings, and the line from the North to the South and it starts from the middle of the long corridor where the gate of Bay Yun, the suit of Bay Yun, and many other amazing structures line up.
The mountain of Hu Chan, located in the Northern most section of the Summer Palace, is considered to be the back park of the lake. This section is totally different than many other parts of the Summer Palace as it does not host the luxurious structures that are apparent in the mountain front park. However, the large number of trees and the several mountain routs give it a special type of magic and quietness. Many travelers would love to explore this section of the Summer Palace when they travel to China.
This park hosts a number of structures that reflect the Tibet style of construction. This is besides many small water canals and lakes.
The front lake park is located to the South of the Summer Palace. From this exact location, the guest can view the mountains in the West and the building and the towers in the North.
A passageway penetrates the lake with many peaches and willow treed lined up in a magnificent scene. The lake has six bridges in the shape of an arch and three islands where many classical buildings were constructed.
A famous bridge crosses the lake from the East to the West. This bridge has 17 entrance points in the shape of an arch. This bridge is not only a rout to reach the center of the lake only, but also a marvelous scene that a person can never forget because of its distinctive beautiful scenes that attract people from all around the world to go on group tours to China.
The compartment of Fouh Chaing located on top of the Wun Chu Mountain is one of the main buildings in the Summer Temple. This compartment is located on a square shaped base that is 21 meters long. The compartment is 40 meters high and it consists of four floors. From inside, the compartment has 8 huge columns. The design of this compartment is quite sophisticated and it is own of the most impressive classical Chinese constructions
The wooden corridors and the small palaces were among the most famous architectural designs used in designing several gardens in China.
The long corridor of the many drawings constructed in the Summer Palace is 728 meters long and it is considered to be the longest ceiled corridor in the whole world. This corridor has more than 14 thousand drawings reflecting the old Chinese tales involving flowers, roses, birds, fishes, and different insects. This section is most popular among children who spend their China tours with their parents as it offers them with an amazing chance to view the old Chinese arts.
The hall of Wu Liang located at the top of the Wun Chu Mountain is also a remarkable structure as it was all built with red bricks and stones. The ceiling of the hall is designed in the shape of an arch. Three are no one single column holding the ceiling of the structure, the fact that proofs how great the architectural art of the old Chinese.
The summer Palace complex hosts a large number of statues and several types of decorations and ornaments. There is, for example, the large statue of a cow that was casted with Bronze. This statue is so realistic that one feels that the cow is about to move around.
The huge marble boat situated on the ground of the Summer Palace in the Northern shores of the lake is decorated with many ornaments and inscriptions. This huge statue is considered to be a master piece of Chinese art. A visit to the summer Palace is always included in custom tours to China.
We have to mention here that the Summer Palace has gathered the best architectural styles from all regions of China. The Eastern section of the Summer Palace with its several compartments and suits reflect the architectural designs located in Northern China where courtyards are separated from one another and linked together through passageways.
The Southern section of the Summer Palace reflects the architectural design that is spread in the city of Hangzhou, in Southern China.
Moreover, the structures to the north of the Mountain of Wun Chu are a great example of the Buddhist temples in the Tibet.
The Summer Palace was destroyed in two occasions. The first time was when the British forces burned it in 1860 and the palace and the whole complex was rebuilt once again. The second time was in 1900 when the Ottomans destroyed many of its components. The summer Palace was rebuilt again in 1902.
The Summer Palace opens its gates for the tourists coming to spend their affordable tours in China from 7 in the morning till 5 in the afternoon. However, sometimes these timings differ from summer to winter.
