The Summer Palace

The Summer Palace, in the northwestern suburbs of Beijing, is the grandest surviving imperial garden in China and a World Heritage Site, built as a retreat where the Qing emperors and their court could escape the summer heat of the Forbidden City. It is designed on a vast scale around Kunming Lake and the artificial Longevity Hill, blending water, hills, temples, palaces, bridges and pavilions in the classical Chinese ideal of a landscape garden, so that every view is composed like a painting. Highlights include the Long Corridor, a covered walkway running for over seven hundred metres beside the lake, every beam painted with a different scene, the marble boat built by the Empress Dowager Cixi, and the Buddhist temple complex climbing the hill to a view over the whole lake. In summer the lake fills with pleasure boats and lotus, and in winter it freezes; at any season it is a place for a long, contemplative wander.

What you actually see

• The Long Corridor - the painted covered walkway of hundreds of scenes along the lake.
• Kunming Lake - the great lake with its bridges, islands and boats.
• Longevity Hill - the temple-crowned hill with its view over the palace and lake.
• The Marble Boat - the lakeside stone pavilion built in the shape of a boat.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the loveliest, with blossom or colour and comfortable temperatures; summer brings lotus on the lake but heat and crowds, and winter freezes the lake for skating. It is a large site best given a half-day of unhurried walking. Weekdays and early mornings are quieter.

Honest expectations

It is very large and involves a lot of walking to see the highlights spread around the lake and up the hill, so wear comfortable shoes and allow time. As one of Beijing's top sights it is busy, especially at weekends and in summer, and the lakeside can be crowded. Some inner temples and halls charge extra. Combining it with the Forbidden City in one day is too much; give it its own half-day.

Nearby

The Old Summer Palace ruins are close by; central Beijing and the Forbidden City are across the city.