Old Summer Palace

Background

The Old Summer Palace stands at No. 28 Qinghua West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, about 8 km northwest of the old inner city. The three gardens cover about 3.5 square kilometres, with about 140 hectares of water, almost five times the area of the Forbidden City. The Dashuifa stone screen and the Xieqiqu ruins in the Western Mansions area are the park's most recognisable sights, and the open waters around Fuhai Lake are at their best in spring blossom and autumn foliage season. In 1707 the Kangxi Emperor gave the garden to his fourth son, Yinzhen. Five emperors in succession — Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xianfeng — then lived and governed here, making it the Qing dynasty's de facto political centre. The gardens combined Jiangnan garden artistry with the European-style buildings and fountains of the Western Mansions, designed by Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining) with the waterworks directed by Michel Benoist (Jiang Youren); the twelve zodiac fountain heads of Haiyantang spouted in turn, one for each two-hour period of the day, and all together at noon. In October 1860, Anglo-French forces occupied and looted the Old Summer Palace; on 18 October the British side ordered it burned, and the fire lasted three days. Around the time the Eight-Nation Alliance entered Beijing in 1900, the surviving buildings were damaged again. In January 1988 the Yuanmingyuan ruins were listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level, and on 29 June of the same year they opened as a ruins park.

Local customs

Enter from the South Gate and stroll along Fuhai Lake, first seeing the Dashuifa ruins and the Haiyantang ruins in the Western Mansions area, then enjoying lotus and water views around Qichunyuan. The ruins exhibitions and reconstruction models, seen side by side, give a direct sense of how large the gardens were in their heyday. If you enjoy photography, capture the silhouette of the Dashuifa stone screen in the early morning or at dusk.

Travel tips

• The park is large, so allow half a day
• entering from the South Gate and leaving from the East or West Gate avoids backtracking. Battery carts and boats are available in the park
• check the notices inside the park for their routes and schedules. Check the official rates for tickets, combined tickets and exhibition charges. In summer, guard against sun and keep hydrated
• after rain, some dirt paths are slippery.
• Metro Line 4 to Yuanmingyuan Station brings you right to the South Gate, and several bus routes serve the South, East and West Gates
• parking is tight on holidays, so the metro is the better choice. Spring and autumn are best: magnolia, peach and crabapple blossom in succession in spring, and ginkgo and maple turn golden in autumn. In summer lotus blooms on Fuhai Lake, and in winter the ruins take on a stark beauty after snow.