Summer palace

Introduction

The Summer Palace is located in the Haidian District northwest of Beijing and 15 kilometers from downtown. The Summer Palace was first built in 1750 by Emperor Qianglong but was later destroyed in the war of 1860 by the Anglo-French Allied Forces and later restored on its original foundations in 1886. In 1888, the Summer Palace was given its present Chinese name, Yihe Yuan. It was later destroyed by the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers in 1900 but was later reconstructed in the Qing Dynasty before it was opened to the public as a tourist attraction in 1924. In 1998 it was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The Summer Palace covers a total of 2.9 square kilometers and has been used as a spot for retreat, residence and relaxation area for imperial families. As other dynasties occupied the palace they modified it but it was during the late Qing dynasty and the regency of Empress Dowager Cixi that the palace obtained its current grandeur. The general landscape of the Summer Palace incorporates natural hills and open water with artificial features like halls, pavilions, palaces, bridges and temples to create a harmonious setting that strives to maintain a conducive environment. Due to its layout, the Summer Palace was able to combine its residential, administrative, political, recreational and spiritual functions. 

Things to see and do on a visit

The Long Corridor

This is a 728-meter long walkway that was constructed in 1750 so that everyone would have sheltered walks in the garden regardless of the weather condition. The corridor is magnificently endowed with at least 14,000 paintings from famous Chinese legends. Its overall landscape creates a completely pleasant atmosphere for unwinding surrounded by willows, lotus flowers, boats and bridges. 

Kunming Lake and Boating 

Kunming Lake is located at the center of the park taking up 75% of the park area and is the key landscape element in the Summer Palace. Visitors can take a boat ride on Kunming Lake in summer to see an island temple and three large islands taking the aspect of ancient Chinese symbolic mountain garden design. Towards the south, of which is linked to the East Dike by the Seventeen Arch Bridge. An essential feature is the West Dike with six bridges in different styles along its length. 

Longevity Hill

Longevity Hill is a man-made steep hill that rises 60 meters high and sits beside a lake dotted with excellent halls and temples that have superbly decorated gates. It is made out of mound extracted from the area that is the current Kunming Lake.

The Court Area

The Court area is near the East Palace Gate in the palace buildings where Empress Cixi and Emperor Guangxu used to conduct government business. They also used to stay in the area that includes a number of courtyards and halls. 

Wenchang Gallery

This is an exhibition of artifacts, relics, jade, furniture and bronze dating back to the Shang dynasty. These materials are collected from imperial families.

The Heralding Spring Pavilion

The Heralding Spring Pavilion is the only pavilion that displays the most stunning and comprehensive view of the whole palace all the way to western mountains. The pavilions name comes from the fact that its the topmost spot where visitors can admire spring colors throughout the palace. It also sits over the water making it more unique surrounded by rocks. Before you reach the pavilion on the path leading to it there are interesting water calligraphers who display their artwork on the pavings. 

The Garden of Virtue and Harmony 

The Garden of Virtue and Harmony is located on the right of the administrative Hall of Benevolence and Longevity. The garden is an imperial leisure complex and is home to the imposing Grand Theatre. The restored theater in the palace where visitors can sit and watch traditional Chinese performances. Empress Cixi was a fan of the Peking opera and she requested the construction of a performing space that remains to date the country’s largest and most impressive.

Just directly opposite is the ornate Hall of Nurtured Joy, where the Empress Dowager relaxed and watcher performances with his special invited guests.

The Bronze Ox 

This bronze ox dates back to 1755 and is located near a pavilion facing Kunming lake with its back inscribed a poem of eighty characters written by the Qianlong Emperor. 

The Spacious Pavilion 

The Spacious Pavilion is the palace’s largest pavilion amongst all the other pavilions. Inside the pavilion is an impressive work of art and colorful wooden structures.

Marble Boat

At the northern edge of the lake sits the only western-style building in a very interesting form that is in the shape of a Marble Boat. It was constructed in 1755 but was burned down by the French and Britons in 1860 during the Second Opium War. The current building was reconstructed in 1893 and is decorated with colored bricks, wheels and glass windows.

Suzhou Market Street

Suzhou Market Street was set up during Qianlong’s Emperor resembling the architectural design of the southern city of Suzhou. It was actually built to impress one of the emperors homesick concubines but the strip was damaged by the French and British forces in 1860 and was later reconstructed in 1990. Nowadays it is home to shops and many boats can be seen floating and riding through its 300-meter canal.

Through these boats, there are riverside shops and most of them can only be accessed through boats. Back in the days, emperors and their concubines would pretend to be shopping although everything was bought for them.

South Lake Island

At the south lake island, visitors can get the best view of the Longevity Hill from way across the lake. In addition to this, there is an imperial Hall of Embracing the Universe where locals relax and unwind. 

The Jade Belt Bridge

This jade belt bridge is also known as a moon bridge and it features a series of Japanese and Chinese gardens and arches steeply. Looking from a distance the bridge’s arc reflects on the lake creating an illusion of a circle hence the name the moon bridge. The high arch was also set in high levels to allow Qianlong Emperor’s elaborate dragon boat to effectively pass beneath it.

The Four Great Regions 

These series of temples combine Tibetan and traditional Chinese architecture mixing color white and red creating the most magical and shimmering buddhas in the midst of steep steps. 

The Tower of Buddhist Incense

This majestically decorated Tower of Buddhist Incense is home to an impressive five meter tall Thousand Handed Guanyin Buddha. The tower is very pleasing to look at. 

The Sea of Wisdom 

This is yet another conspicuous Buddhist monument that is also the highest building in the area. It is characterized by repeating Buddhas both big and small on the inside and its facade is yellow glazed in green. 

Baoyun Bronze Pavilion

Located near the Longevity Hill, this pavilion is made of 207 tonnes of bronze and has a blackish green color sitting in the middle of other colorful buildings. 

The West Causeway

This West Causeway was built in the same criterion as Hangzhou’s renowned West Lake. This western strip is completely calm and quiet and is lined with pavilions and bridges shaded by the most colorful flowers and green trees. 

The Seventeen Arch Bridge

This 150 meter high Seventeen arch bridge is very conspicuous and is decorated by hundreds of lion statues. During summer, the sun shines on this Bridge to form the most auspicious sight. 

The Hall of Joyful Longevity 

The hall of joyful longevity is set up in a siheyuan style courtyard environment that was built in 1750 as a gift to Emperor Qianlong’s mother 60th birthday. The courtyard was later rebuilt by empress Dowager Cixi after it was destroyed by British and French forces. It is home to an 8 meters wide and 4 meters tall rock that was first discovered in the southwest of Fangshan district by Ming dynasty official and stone enthusiast Mi Wanzhong, who spent all his fortune trying to transport it back to his city residence but he left it halfway due to lack of funds. When emperor Qianlong came across it and saw its resemblance to a renowned fungus perceived to miraculous extend powers, he moved the stone to the summer palace. However, to date many suspicious visitors connect the rock to bad lick and even choose not to take photos with it fearing their own bankruptcy.

Dragon and phoenix statues

This pair of bronze statues are located on either side of the entrance as it is traditionally with the Chinese customs representing the empress and the Phoenix represents the power that empresses Cixi held. 

Introduction 

Beijing Olympic Park also known as Beijing Olympic Green is situated in the northern end of the central axis of Beijing City near the edge of the North Fourth Ring Road. The park covers an area of 2,864 acres, part of it covering the Olympic Forest Park in a total of 1,680 acres on the northern side, 778 acres make up the central section and 405 acres located in the south are full of venues for the 1990 Asian Games. It is where the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympics took place and is venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics.The park was initially designed to contain ten venues but it was afterward transformed into a comprehensive multifunctional activity center for the public. 

The park combines human interaction with science and technology yet keeping environmental conservation at the forefront. This is made possible by comprehensive energy infrastructure and a convenient transportation system integrating office and business spaces with hotels and dwelling places all under one location. It is set up in three regions: the north end is occupied by the Olympic Forest Park covering 680 hectares; the central zone covering 291 hectares with the main venues and supporting facilities and the southern covering 114 hectares with the stadium and reserved area.

Things to do and see on a visit

The Southern Section - Former Sports Center and China Ethnic Culture Park

This section of the park integrates sports and nature and was the venue for the 1990 Asian Games. The gymnasium, stadium and Yingdong Natatorium were all used for the games. In addition to this, there is a museum with a collection relics from 56 ethnic groups in China.

The Northern Section - Olympic Forest Park

This Olympic Forest Park is a terminal point of Beijing’s central axis and is divided by the fifth ring road into two making room for a northern garden and a southern garden. On the northern garden is carpeted with greenery and vegetation while the southern garden has an artificial classical garden layout with Aohai Sea and Yangshan Mountain built using ancient technologies.

The Central Section - Bird's Nest and Water Cube

This central section is home to many important landmarks and venues and still bears the spirit of competition. There is an Olympic Village, the Aquatics Centre (water cube), China Science and Technology Museum, Convention Centre, Indoor Stadium and the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest)

Olympic Village

The Olympic Village Olympic Village also known as the athlete’s village is the accommodation residence that was prepared to host athletes and coaches from different countries who were participating in the Olympics. The village catered for their meals, entertainment, leisure activities amongst other personal needs of the athletes and their crew.

Beijing National Aquatics Centre (Water Cube)

The National Aquatics Centre also popularly known as the water cube can hold a capacity of 17,000 people. It was the venue for swimming competitions, diving competitions and other water water sports. At the water cube, the swimmers created history by breaking 25 world records during the Olympics. After the Olympics, the water cube went through a 200 million Yuan transformation and was later re-opened in August 2010. The water cube is now a leisure center containing a sport and fitness section. For the 2022 Winter Olympics the cube is expected to host the curling competition.

Beijing National Indoor Stadium

The Beijing National Indoor Stadium also known as the Folding Fan occupies a total area of 80,900 square meters. The capacity of the stadium is up to 20,000 people and was one of the three main venues during the Beijing Olympic Games. The stadium was used for handball competitions, gymnastics and trampoline sports. After the Olympics the stadium is now used as a first class center for sporting, cultural and entertainment competitions. 

The Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest)

The National Stadium is also known as the Bird’s Nest displaying great art in architectural possibilities and resembling a cradle of breeding lives and symbolizing a world of endless possibilities. Its construction was a joint effort of Pierre de Meuron, Jacques Herzog, Ai Weiwei, Stefan Marbach, CADG and Li Xinggang. It is located in the south of the central area of Beijing Olympic Park with the main building being the Bird Nest occupying an area of 258,000 square meters. The structure of the Bird Nest is dominated by a huge portal frame with a total of 24 truss columns. This stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies, football finals and athletics of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. After the Beijing Olympics Game, the Beijing National Stadium has turned out to be a major landmark in the city, a destination for sporting activities and entertainment. At night it lights up with magical colors brightening the whole park and creating a hypnotic effect. 

Ling Long Pagoda

The Ling Long Pagoda is located at the center of the Olympic Park. The pagoda occupies a total area of 4299 square meters, 3636 on the ground area and 663 square meters on the underground. The height of the Pagoda is 132 meters making it the highest building in the Olympic Park and its levels are divided into seven floors. The first floor is occupied by the lobby, the second to sixth floors are studios and the top most floor is the sightseeing deck. The main function of the Pagoda was to broadcast television during the Beijing Olympic Games. The architectural design of this pagoda originates from ancient Chinese cultural elements. The use of steel and glass curtain wall incorporating modern techniques to abstractly express light and clear features is very unique. When night falls the building looks completely charming with colored lights changing harmoniously. It is now home to International Broadcast companies like the BBC, NBC, France Television using Beijing’s real skyline as the studio’s background. 

Beijing Olympic Forest Park

The Beijing Olympic Forest Park is the largest urban greening landscape in Asia covering an area of 680 hectares with at least 55 million trees and shrubs with 280 different species of plants. The venue is home to a Hockey Stadium, a tennis court and an archery Field.

After the Olympics, the park became a resort for locals to unwind and spend time with their families hence promoting tourism, fitness and recreation. For the elderly visitors, the park offers a cable car ride for them to fully enjoy the beauty of the landscape. Bike rides are also allowed in the park for visitors who wish to explore on a bike.