Summer Palace 颐和园Yíhéyuán

An imperial lakeside garden of painted corridors, temple-topped hills and a marble boat

Best time: Apr–May, Sep–Oct
Time needed: Half a day
Days to budget: Half a day
Stay in: Beijing
Region: Beijing
Type: Heritage
Listed as: 5A scenic area, National heritage site, UNESCO World Heritage

Why go to Summer Palace

In Beijing's north-western suburbs, the Summer Palace arranges halls, temples and pavilions around Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill in one of the great set pieces of Chinese garden design. Walk the painted Long Corridor, climb to the Tower of Buddhist Incense for the view, then cross the water by boat to the Seventeen-Arch Bridge.

The story

After British and French troops burned the gardens in 1860, Empress Dowager Cixi rebuilt them in the 1880s, reportedly with money meant for the navy. That gives the immovable stone Marble Boat moored at the lakeshore an ironic edge.

What to see at Summer Palace

Hall of Benevolence and Longevity 仁寿殿: The audience hall just inside the East Palace Gate where Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor held court in summer, with a rockery behind it.
Garden of Virtue and Harmony 德和园: A walled court holding a three-storey opera house, about 21 metres tall, where the court watched performances.
Long Corridor 长廊: A covered walkway of 273 bays and 728 metres between the lake and the hill, painted with landscapes, legends and scenes from classic novels.
Garden of Harmonious Pleasures 谐趣园: A garden within the garden at the north-east corner, modelled on a Wuxi garden and built around a pond, with a low bridge for watching fish.
Suzhou Street 苏州街: A reconstructed canal-side shopping street on the back lake, copied from a street in Suzhou that the Qianlong Emperor admired.
Seventeen-Arch Bridge 十七孔桥: A bridge of more than 150 metres linking the east shore to Nanhu Island, topped with hundreds of carved stone lions.

How to visit Summer Palace

The main entrances are the East Palace Gate and the North Palace Gate. From the East Gate a standard route goes through the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity and the Garden of Virtue and Harmony to the Long Corridor; from the North Gate it passes Suzhou Street and the Marble Boat before joining the corridor. The Tower of Buddhist Incense, Garden of Virtue and Harmony and Suzhou Street are closed on Mondays except public holidays. A half-day covers one route plus a boat or the lake edge; a full day adds the back hill, the east shore and Seventeen-Arch Bridge, and ferries run across the lake to Nanhu Island.

How to get to Summer Palace

Take Metro Line 4 to Beigongmen for the North Palace Gate, or allow 30–60 minutes by taxi from central Beijing depending on traffic.

Where to stay

The palace sits in Haidian district in north-west Beijing, so stay near Xiyuan or Beigongmen on Metro Line 4 for an early start before the gates fill up. Otherwise base yourself in central Beijing and allow 30–60 minutes each way.

What to eat

Lüdagun 驴打滚: A rolled sticky-rice cake with sweet red-bean filling, coated in roasted soybean flour, a Manchu snack that was served at the Qing court and is still popular in Beijing.
Palace milk pudding 宫廷奶酪: A milk pudding in the Beijing snack tradition whose name recalls the imperial court.

Tips for visiting Summer Palace

Enter by the North Palace Gate and walk downhill past Suzhou Street and over Longevity Hill to the lake.
Buy the through ticket if you want to enter the Tower of Buddhist Incense and the other walled-off sites.
In deep winter the frozen lake becomes a skating rink.

Nearby

Old Summer Palace 圆明园 under 10 km
Broken marble arches of Qing European-style palaces beside lakes of summer lotus
Fragrant Hills Park 香山公园 under 10 km
Wooded former imperial hills that turn red with smoke-tree leaves each autumn
Bird's Nest and Olympic Green 奥林匹克公园 10 km
The Bird's Nest and Water Cube, venues of the 2008 and 2022 Olympics, lit up after dark
Prince Gong's Mansion 恭王府 10 km
A Qing courtyard mansion and rock garden, home first to a corrupt minister, then a prince
Shichahai 什刹海 10 km
Three linked lakes ringed by hutongs and lakeside bars, with open-air skating in winter
Drum and Bell Towers 钟鼓楼 10 km
Beijing's old timekeeping towers, with drum performances and views over the hutong roofs

Also within 30 km: Yanyuan Campus of Peking University 北京大学燕园 (under 10 km), Early Buildings of Tsinghua University 清华大学早期建筑 (under 10 km), China National Botanical Garden 国家植物园 (under 10 km), Tuancheng Fortress 团城演武厅 (under 10 km), Big Bell Temple 大钟寺 (under 10 km), Wanshou Temple 万寿寺 (under 10 km).

Trips with Summer Palace

China in 10 days on a first visit: Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai and Suzhou 10 days · Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai and Suzhou
Two weeks in China: Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Guilin and Shanghai 14 days · Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Leshan, Guilin and Shanghai

On the map

Open Summer Palace on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it, what else is close, and to add it to a trip and plan the days.

Open Summer Palace on the map