Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing

The Summer Palace: Beijing’s Best Day Out

The Summer Palace is 3,000 hectares of lakes, gardens, temples, and pavilions. It took the reign of Emperor Qianlong (who began construction in 1750) and a further renovation by Empress Dowager Cixi (who spent navy funds on it in 1888) to produce what you see today. Even knowing that history, the scale surprises you when you arrive.

Most visitors spend three to four hours and see the main sites along the north shore of Kunming Lake. With an early start, you can do twice that and find parts of the complex that feel genuinely remote.

Getting There

Metro line 4 terminates at Beigongmen, which is the north gate and the sensible entry point. The journey from central Beijing takes about 40 minutes and costs 4 yuan. Taxis from the city centre run 50-80 yuan depending on traffic, which can be considerable along the Fourth Ring Road.

Entry is 30 yuan. The comprehensive ticket, which includes the major pavilions and the Tower of Buddhist Incense, is 60 yuan. The comprehensive ticket is worth it on a first visit. Online booking is available and advisable for holidays and weekends.

The Main Sites and How to Order Them

Enter via the North Gate and turn right (east) before you reach the lakefront. This takes you away from the main crowd flow and up through the Suzhou Street area, a reconstructed Qing-dynasty canal market that the emperors used as a kind of entertainment district. It is slightly touristy but interesting. Most visitors skip it entirely and miss a quieter corner of the palace.

Come back to the north shore and head west along the Long Corridor. All 728 metres of it. The ceiling and beams are painted with over 14,000 scenes from Chinese history, legend, and landscape. Counting them is impossible; examining them properly takes longer than most people allow. The corridor ends near the Marble Boat, which is made partly of stone and was completed in Cixi’s renovation. It cannot sail anywhere. It is, however, extremely photogenic.

The Tower of Buddhist Incense (Foxiang Ge) is the vertical landmark of the palace, sitting on Longevity Hill and visible from almost everywhere. The climb is about 120 steps from the base of the hill. The view from the top takes in the full extent of Kunming Lake and, on clear days, the Western Hills beyond. Air quality in Beijing varies enormously: a blue-sky day in autumn or early winter gives you the best chance of a long view.

Kunming Lake

The lake itself covers three-quarters of the total Summer Palace area. In summer, rowing boats hire for around 70-100 yuan per hour from several jetties. The Seventeen Arch Bridge (which is actually a single bridge with 17 arches) connects the south shore to Nanhu Island, and walking across it puts you at a distance from the main crowds. Nanhu Island has a small temple and the best lake views in the complex.

In winter, if the lake freezes hard enough, it is possible to skate on it. This happens most years in January and February, and it is one of the more unusual Beijing winter experiences.

Crowds and Timing

The Summer Palace on a summer weekend is genuinely unpleasant. The path along the Long Corridor can be shoulder-to-shoulder by 10:00. Go on a weekday, or arrive at opening (06:30 in summer, 07:00 in winter). The first hour of the day, before tour groups arrive, is when the complex is actually peaceful.

Autumn is the best season. The trees around the lake turn gold from mid-October, the air tends to be cleaner than summer, and by late October the crowds thin noticeably.

Eating

The restaurant inside the palace grounds is overpriced and ordinary. Bring a packed lunch or eat when you exit. The Beigongmen area outside the north gate has a cluster of noodle restaurants and dumpling shops that are much better value. The Suzhou Street section inside the grounds has snack stalls selling sesame flatbreads (shaobing) and roasted nuts that are perfectly adequate for a walking lunch.

The Summer Palace rewards time. Tourists who rush through in two hours and tick the Marble Boat and the Corridor have seen the highlights but not the place.