Things You'll Need:
- Local currency
- Taxi, tour bus or private car (contracted through your hotel concierge)
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Step 1
If you've been to Europe and seen the royal residences there, you need to change your mindset before entering the gates of the Summer Palace. European palaces and castles are massive stone structures built mainly for defense. The Summer Palace was built to be in harmony with nature, and the wealth of the royal family was shown by the enormous square footage of the estate.
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Step 2
Sprawling over 726 acres, most of which is Kunming Lake, there are many pagodas and benches from which you may take in the surrounding vistas. With unhampered skylines around the Palace grounds, you can truly imagine yourself back in time to when the Palace was originally built in the twelfth century.
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Step 3
Although the Palace has been damaged by many battles, it was painstakingly renovated time and again so that as a visitor you can still walk amongst the spirit of tranquility that has seeped into the bones of the thousands that have walked there before you. The most recent rebuilding was done by the Empress Dowager Cixi in 1888 (after she embezzled money from the Imperial Navy!).
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Step 4
The Palace is categorized into 3 main areas. The first is the Court area, which is comprised of the East Palace Gate, the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, the Hall of Jade Ripples, the Garden of Virtue and Harmony and the Hall of Joyful Longevity.
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Step 5
The second main area is Longevity Hill, which is comprised of the Long Corridor, the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, the Tower of Buddhist Incense, the Hall of the Sea of Wisdom, the Back Lake, the Suzhou Market, the Garden of Harmonious Interests and Longevity Hill itself.
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Step 6
The third main area is Kunming Lake, which is comprised of the Marble Boat, Nanhu Island, the Bronze Ox and the beautiful 17-Arch Bridge. UNESCO added the Summer Palace to its list of World Heritage Sites to be enjoyed by locals and visitors for many years to come.
