Old Summer Palace
- Chinese name: 圆明园
- Foreign name: Old Summer Palace
- Location: No. 28, Qinghua West Road, Haidian District, Beijing
- Add：北京市海淀区清华西路28号
- Opening hours: 07:00-19:30 throughout the year
- Attraction level: National AAAAA level tourist attraction
- Ticket price: 25 yuan
- Area: about 350 hectares
- Famous attractions: Dashuifa, Western Building Ruins, Fanghu Scenic Spot
- Category: History Museum,
- The first builder of the art museum: Aixinjueluo·Xuanye (Kangxi)
- Burning time: October 18, 1860
- Expansion period: Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang period
- Official website: http://www.yuanmingyuanpark.cn/
- Phone: 010-62628501
- Virtual Tour: https://v.visitbeijing.com.cn/pano/22_1/index.html
Old Summer Palace
The Old Summer Palace is a famous royal garden in the Qing Dynasty. It consists of three areas: the Old Summer Palace, the Changchun Garden and the Yichun Garden. In 1860, the British and French allied forces burned the main building to ashes. Today, tourists can only pay homage to the wreckage, looking for the glorious empire.
Old Summer Palace
Most of the landscaping in the Yuanmingyuan takes water as the theme, and wins with water features, including both broad and calm lakes and narrow and swift streams. The Old Summer Palace is mainly composed of two major areas: Fuhai Scenic Area and Houhu Scenic Area.
Fuhai is the water surface in the garden, which means “blessing is like the East China Sea”. It was the water recreation center of the Royal Garden at that time. In the middle of the sea, there are three square islands of different sizes connected by bridges. Along the Fuhai Sea, there are many small water surfaces circling and lingering, together with stacked rocks and mountains, gathering soil to form hills, forming nearly a hundred natural spaces with layers of layers, mountains and waters, just like nature.
The Houhu Scenic Area is located in the west of Fuhai. There are nine small islands surrounding the Houhu Lake, which is a symbol of the “Kyushu” of the national territory. The landscapes of each island have their own characteristics, and they borrow from each other to form landscapes.
Qichun Garden
Qichun Garden, also known as “Wanchun Garden”, consists of Zhuyuan, Hanhui Garden, Xishuang Village, and the northern half of Chunhe Garden. It was once one of the main places where Emperor Jiaqing lived in the garden for many years. After Daoguang , mainly as the residence of the empress dowagers and concubines. There are many small scenic spots in the park, which is a large collection of small waterscape gardens.
Today, Qichun Garden is the main site of the annual lotus festival in Yuanmingyuan. There are large lotus flowers planted on the water surface in the garden. In midsummer, the lotus flowers are in full bloom, and the whole Yichun Garden is full of purples and reds. It is also a good experience to row a cruise ship and walk through the lotus leaves.
Changchun Garden
Changchun Garden is dominated by large-scale water features. The core building at that time, Hanjingtang, was a large-scale complex. Its layout was based on the Ningshou Palace in the Forbidden City. It was the residence of Emperor Qianlong after he abdicated. There is a lion forest in the northeast corner of the park, which is modeled on the Suzhou Lion Forest. A series of European-style garden buildings, commonly known as “Western Buildings”, are built in the northwest of the park. The well-known “Dashuifa” is located here.
In addition, there are more than ten buildings and gardens such as Harmonious Interest, Xianfa Bridge, Haiyan Hall, Yuanying Temple, Guanshuifa, Xianfa Mountain and Xianfa Wall, but now there are only ruins left, which can only be seen in the ruins. Zhongyao thinks about the grand occasion of that year.
The Yellow Flower Array in the Xiyanglou Scenic Area of Yuanmingyuan is a rectangular maze imitating European style. At that time, the court ladies and eunuchs played here, and the emperor and a group of concubines sat on the high platform to watch. Because the palace ladies held palace lanterns made of yellow flowers, it was called the Yellow Flower Array. At this point in the garden, you must walk through this maze to feel the atmosphere of the king and the people having fun together.
Watch exhibitions and documentaries
A looting by the British and French forces in 1860 destroyed a generation of famous gardens, and the spectacular scene of that year no longer exists. If you can’t imagine it out of thin air, you can experience the grand occasion of that year in the explanation of the guide at the “Panoramic Model Exhibition of the Old Summer Palace in its prime” in Changchun Garden. Address: Southeast of the Xiyanglou Relics Area in Changchun Garden, northeast of Hanjing Hall.
In addition, the Yuanmingyuan Exhibition Hall located in the Xiyanglou ruins area will broadcast the large-scale documentary “Yuanmingyuan” in a loop every day from 8:30 to 17:00, which will help people more intuitively experience the grand occasion of a generation of famous gardens.
Old Summer Palace Tourist Map
Old Summer Palace Photo
Old Summer Palace Video
Old Summer Palace Travel Guide
- There is a battery car in the park. The reference fare is 8-15 yuan for a one-way trip. The specific route and operating time can be found on the official website of the scenic spot.
- There is an audio guide rental office in the park (East Gate of Changchun Garden, Palace Gate of Qichun Garden), which can be divided into 20 yuan and 40 yuan according to the language (a deposit of 200 yuan).
- A tour guide can also be hired in the park, and the reservation phone is 010-62628501.
How To Get To Old Summer Palace
By Taxi
from downdown to Old Summer Palace, expense is about 50-100 rmb
Practical Chinese:for taxi driver pls take us to BeiJing Old Summer Palace 请载我们到圆明园
