China Guide
Beijing
The Summer Palace
Opening time: Daily 8am–7pm, buildings close at 4pm
Price: ¥40
Address: Either take a taxi from Xizhimen or Wudaokou metro stop (¥15), or bus #808 from Qianmen
Yiheyuan, the Summer Palace, is certainly worth the effort to seek out. This is one of the loveliest spots in Beijing, a vast public park where the latter-day imperial court would decamp during the hottest months of the year. The site is perfect, surrounded by hills, cooled by the extensive Kunming Lake (which takes up two-thirds of the park's area) and sheltered by garden landscaping. The impressive temples and pleasure houses are spread out along the lakeside and connected by a suitably majestic gallery.
There have been summer imperial pavilions at Yiheyuan since the eleventh century, but the key character associated with the palace is the Empress Dowager Cixi who rebuilt the palaces in 1888 and constructed a magnificent marble boat from funds intended for the Chinese navy. To enjoy the site, however, you need know very little of its history – the park, its lake and pavilions form a startling visual array, like a traditional landscape painting brought to life.
Among the palaces built on and around Wanshou Shan (Longevity Hill), the majestic Renshoudian (Hall of Benevolence and Longevity) contains much of the original nineteenth-century furniture, including an imposing throne, while the Deheyuan (Palace of Virtue and Harmony) is dominated by a three-storey theatre, complete with trap doors for dramatic exits. Cixi's principal residence, the Leshoutang (Hall of Joy and Longevity), houses the table where she took her notorious 108-course meals.
The nine-hundred-metre Long Gallery is painted with mythological scenes and flanked by various temples and pavilions. It is said that no pair of lovers can walk through without emerging betrothed. Near its west end is the infamous marble boat and a jetty with rowing boats for rent. You can dock again below Wanshou Shan and row out to the two bridges – the Jade Belt on the western side and Seventeen Arched on the east. In winter, the Chinese skate on the lake here, an equally spectacular sight, and skates are available for rent.