The Summer Palace is a royal garden of the Qing Dynasty in China, located in the western suburbs of Beijing, 15 kilometers from the city, covering an area of about 290 hectares. This garden is based on Kunming Lake and Wanshou Mountain, and draws on the design techniques of Jiangnan gardens, which is the most intact royal palace and is known as the "Royal Garden Museum".
The predecessor of the Summer Palace was Qingyi Garden, which was built in 1750 A.D., during the last feudal era in China - the "Kangqian Prosperous Era". In order to honor his mother, the Empress Dowager Chongqing, Emperor Qianlong spent 4.48 million taels of ** to build. However, during the Second Opium War in 1860, Qingyi Garden was burned down by the British and French forces.
In the fourteenth year of Guangxu (1888), the Qing Dynasty embezzled naval funds and other funds to rebuild Qingyi Garden, and two years later it was renamed Summer Palace, as the Empress Dowager Cixi's retirement place. Since then, the Summer Palace has become the most important center of political and diplomatic activities of the supreme ruler of the late Qing Dynasty outside the Forbidden City, and is an important witness to China's modern history and the place where many major historical events took place.
The Summer Palace is mainly composed of two major parts, Wanshou Mountain and Kunming Lake, of which the water surface area accounts for three-quarters. The buildings in the park are centered on the Buddha Xiang Pavilion, with more than 100 scenic spots and more than 20 courtyards. Wanshou Mountain belongs to the remaining veins of Yanshan Mountain, which is 18 high59 meters. The buildings of Wanshou Mountain are built along the mountain, and the Buddha Xiang Pavilion is its center. The Buddha Xiang Pavilion is 41 meters high, there are eight huge iron pear wood pillars in the pavilion, the structure is complex, and it is a classical architectural boutique. The exterior of the building is decorated with beautiful yellow and green glazed tiles, and the upper part is covered with a small number of purple and blue glazed tiles. Although it looks like a wooden structure, it does not actually use a single piece of wood, and is all made of stone bricks. Because the temple is dedicated to the Buddha Amitayus, it is also known as the Amitayus Hall.
In the West Causeway of the Summer Palace, many weeping willows are planted, and the scenery is very beautiful. There is also one of the longest corridors in the world, located at the southern foot of Wanshou Mountain, with a total length of 728 meters, which is the longest corridor in Chinese gardens. The promenade was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1992.
In addition to its beautiful natural scenery and magnificent architectural ensemble, the Summer Palace also carries a rich historical and cultural connotation. Behind the longevity stone in the Summer Palace, there is a pair of world's only sculptures of "dragon below, phoenix above", symbolizing the supremacy of the Empress Dowager Cixi. In addition, Emperor Guangxu once met with Kang Youwei, a thinker of the Restoration, in the Renshou Hall of the Summer Palace to inquire about the reform of the law. After the failure of the reform, Guangxu was imprisoned in the Yulan Hall in the garden for a long time. In 1900, the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded Beijing, and the Summer Palace was looted again. In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the Summer Palace became the main residence of China's supreme rulers, where Cixi and Guangxu sat to listen to the government, issue edicts, and receive foreign guests.
Since 1924, the Summer Palace has been opened to the public. On March 4, 1961, the Summer Palace was announced as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units, and was known as China's four famous gardens together with the Chengde Summer Resort, the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Lingering Garden. In November 1998, the Summer Palace was inscribed on the World Heritage List. On May 8, 2007, the Summer Palace was officially approved by the National Tourism Administration as a national 5A-level tourist attraction. In 2009, the Summer Palace was selected as the largest surviving royal garden in China by the China World Records Association.
In short, the Summer Palace, with its exquisite garden architecture, rich history and culture, and profound artistic value, has become a treasure in China and even the world's cultural heritage. Whether it is to appreciate its natural scenery or its historical and cultural connotations, the Summer Palace can bring visitors a profound experience and insight.