Summer Palace, Beijing

The Summer Palace, or Yiheyuan, is one of the China's largest and best-preserved imperial gardens. It is a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design, integrating the natural landscape of hills and open water with man-made features into a harmonious and aesthetically exceptional whole. With a concentration of the best of ancient buildings as well as styles of gardening, it is a virtual museum of traditional Chinese gardening.

The Summer Palace was first named the Garden of Clear Ripples, which was burnt down by the allied forces of Great Britain and France in 1860. Reconstruction started 25 years later and was completed in 1895, and the name was changed to Yiheyuan (Garden of Good Health and Harmony). The design gives prominence to the Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. Other prominent features include the ˇ°Long Corridor,ˇ± with brilliant decorative paintings on the ceiling, the Marble Boat, built by Empress Dowager Cixi with fund allotted for building the Chinese navy,  and the Seventeen-Arch Bridge.

In 1998, UNESCO added the Summer Palace to its World Heritage List.

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Summer Palace Tops Beijing's Scenic Spots
Sep. 29, 2005 - As the National Day holiday is approaching, Beijing has launched an activity to evaluate its numerous scenic spots in preparation for this peak travel period in China. The Summer Palace, the imperial retreat residence built during the Qing Dynasty, got the highest rating from the 28 examinees. The activity was organized by the Beijing Tourism Industry Association. It mainly focused on the service standards and environmental quality of the locations. Visitors' opinions were also taken into consideration. Besides the Summer Palace, the Beijing Botanical Garden, the World Park and the Temple of Heaven were also praised. The results show that the overall state of the tourism destinations in the capital is better than in previous years, and that both the security measures and sanitary facilities are improving.