Waters of Tranquility: A Day in the Imperial Gardens of the Summer Palace

The hum of Beijing's morning traffic fades the moment you pass through the gates of the Summer Palace (颐和园, Yíhéyuán). In the northwestern suburbs of the capital, this vast landscape of water, stone, and cedar served as the private retreat for the Qing dynasty (清朝, Qīngcháo) emperors escaping the stifling heat of the Forbidden City. Unlike the rigid, symmetrical grid of the imperial palace, the Summer Palace is all curves, slopes, and reflections. It is a triumph of classical landscape design, where every pavilion and bridge is positioned to frame a view of water and hills.

At the heart of the park is Kunming Lake (昆明湖, Kūnmíng Hú). It is massive, occupying three-quarters of the entire grounds. On a clear day, the flat grey-blue water ripples under a light breeze, reflecting the dark ridges of the Western Hills (西山, Xīshān) miles to the west. This is no accident. The garden builders used the technique of jièjǐng (借景), or 'borrowed scenery,' incorporating the distant mountains into the garden's own composition so the park feels infinite.

To walk the edge of the lake is to see imperial engineering on a grand scale. The lake itself is artificial, dug out by hand over centuries and shaped to mimic the West Lake in Hangzhou. The excavated soil was piled up to create Longevity Hill (万寿山, Wànshòu Shān), a steep ridge that rises directly from the northern shore.

Climbing Longevity Hill requires strong legs. The stone paths wind steeply through dense groves of ancient cypresses and pines. Halfway up, the Tower of Buddhist Incense (佛香阁, Fóxiāng Gé) rises on a massive stone base. From its octagonal wooden balconies, you look down at the tiled roofs of the temples below — a sea of yellow glazed tiles and green trim sliding down toward the water.

Descending to the lakeside, you find the Long Corridor (长廊, Cháng Láng). Stretching for 728 meters along the water's edge, it is a wooden gallery painted with thousands of tiny, colorful scenes from Chinese mythology and history. In the heat of the afternoon, the corridor is cool and shady. Older locals sit on the wooden benches, playing cards or singing traditional opera, their voices rising above the gentle lapping of the lake.

At the western end of the corridor sits the famous Stone Boat (石舫, Shífǎng). Built in 1755, this large, immovable vessel features a solid stone hull topped by two stories of traditional wooden cabins painted to look like marble. It sits resting on the shallow lake bed, a monument to imperial extravagance and a visual joke — a boat that can never sail, built to symbolize the eternal stability of the dynasty.

As you walk back across the Seventeen-Arch Bridge (十七孔桥, Shíqīkǒng Qiáo) toward the South Lake Island, the afternoon sun begins to sink. The stone lions carved along the balustrades cast long shadows over the water, and the white marble arches glow a soft cream. The city is waiting just outside the walls, but inside, the water holds the quiet.

Practical Beats

• Admission: A combo ticket (which includes entry to the gardens and inside courtyards like the Tower of Buddhist Incense and Suzhou Street) costs 60 RMB (April to October) or 50 RMB (November to March). General admission to the park grounds only is 30 RMB (high season) or 20 RMB (low season).
• Opening Hours: The main park gates are open daily from 06:00 to 20:00 (April to October) or 06:30 to 19:00 (November to March). The inside courtyards and attractions are open from 08:30 to 17:00 (high season) or 09:00 to 18:00 (low season).
• Getting There: Take Metro Line 4 (地铁4号线, Dìtiě Sìhào Xiàn) to Beigongmen Station (北宫门站). Take Exit D and walk west for about three minutes to reach the North Palace Gate entrance.
• The Travel Tip: Enter through the North Gate, climb up and over Longevity Hill, and then rent a small wooden boat to row across Kunming Lake. It is the best way to appreciate the garden’s scale and escape the tour groups walking the shoreline paths.