The Old Summer Palace is a famous royal garden in the Qing Dynasty. It is composed of three areas: Yuanmingyuan, Changchun Garden, and Qichun Garden. In history, it was extremely magnificent and beautiful, and had the reputation of ‘the garden of all gardens’. In 1860, the Anglo-French Allied Forces burned down the main buildings to ashes. Now, tourists can only pay their respects among the ruins and look for the glorious imperial figure of that year.
The garden landscaping of the Old Summer Palace mostly takes water as the theme and wins with water features. There are both broad and calm lakes and narrow and turbulent streams. The Old Summer Palace is mainly composed of two major areas: Fuhai Scenic Area and Houhu Scenic Area. Fuhai is the water surface in the garden, taking the meaning of ‘happiness as vast as the East Sea’. It was the water amusement center of the royal garden at that time. In the center of the sea, there are three square islands of different sizes connected by bridges. Along the Fuhai are numerous small water surfaces winding around, accompanied by stacked stones and piled-up hills and mounds of earth, forming nearly a hundred natural spaces with layers upon layers and mountains and waters turning. It is as if made by nature. The Houhu Scenic Area is in the west of Fuhai. Surrounding Houhu, there are nine small islands, which are symbols of the ‘nine states’ of the national territory. The garden landscapes of each island have their own characteristics and borrow from each other to form a scene. Qichun Garden, also known as ‘Wanchun Garden’, is composed of bamboo garden, Hanhui Garden, Xishuang Village, and the northern half of Chunheyuan. It was once one of the main places where Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty lived in the garden for a long time. After Emperor Daoguang, it was mainly used as a place for empresses and concubines to live in the garden. There are many small scenic spots everywhere in the garden, and it is a large collection of small waterscape gardens. Now, Qichun Garden is the main venue for the annual lotus festival in the Old Summer Palace. There are large areas of lotus planted on the water surface in the garden. In midsummer, the lotus is in full bloom, and the entire Qichun Garden is full of brilliant colors. Taking a cruise and traveling through the lotus leaves is also a good experience. Changchun Garden takes large-scale waterscape as the main body. The core building complex of Hanjingtang in those days was of large scale. Its layout was modeled after the Ning Shou Gong in the Forbidden City. It was the residence where Emperor Qianlong often lived after abdicating. In the northeast corner of the park, there is Lion Grove, which is built by imitating Lion Grove in Suzhou. In the northwest of the park, a series of European-style garden buildings were built, commonly known as ‘Western Buildings’. The well-known ‘Dashuifa’ is located here. In addition, there are more than ten buildings and gardens such as Xieqiqu, Xianfa Bridge, Haiyantang, Yuanyingguan, Guanshuifa, Xianfa Mountain and Xianfa Wall. However, now only a pile of ruins remains. One can only imagine the grand occasion of that year in the ruins. The Yellow Flower Labyrinth in the Western Buildings scenic area of the Old Summer Palace is a European-style rectangular maze imitated. In those days, palace maids and eunuchs played here. The emperor and a group of imperial concubines sat on a high platform to watch. Because the palace maids held palace lanterns made of yellow flowers, it was called the Yellow Flower Labyrinth. When visiting here, you must walk through this maze and feel the atmosphere of the monarch and the people having fun together.There is an exhibition and documentary. In 1860, a looting by the Anglo-French allied forces destroyed a famous garden in one fell swoop. The magnificent scene of that year no longer exists. If imagination alone is not enough, you can go to the ‘Panoramic Model Exhibition of the Old Summer Palace in its Prime’ in Changchun Garden and feel the grand occasion of that year under the explanation of the commentator.
Address: Southeast of the Western-style building ruins area in Changchun Garden and northeast of Hanjingtang. In addition, the Old Summer Palace Exhibition Hall located in the Western-style building ruins area will continuously play the large-scale documentary ‘The Old Summer Palace’ from 8:30 to 17:00 every day, which helps people intuitively feel the grand occasion of the famous garden in that year. Opening hours: From April 1st to October 31st, it is open from 07:00 to 19:00; from November 1st to March 31st, it is open from 07:00 to 17:30. The latest admission time for inner gardens is the same as the latest admission time for the main entrance ticket. Preferential policies: Minors: Under 18 years old (excluding 18), free. Elderly: Those aged 60 or above with senior citizen card or ID card, free. Disabled people: With disability certificate, free. Disabled soldiers: With valid certificates, free. Veteran cadres of the revolution: Those with the honorary certificate for retired veteran cadres of the revolution, free. Military personnel: Active-duty military personnel, armed police officers and soldiers, and families of martyrs with valid certificates, free. Persons who have performed acts of bravery: With certificates issued by relevant departments, free. Provincial and ministerial-level model workers: With certificates issued by relevant departments, free. Students: Full-time undergraduate and below students (excluding graduate students, short-term training students, and adult continuing education students) with valid certificates, half price. People on subsistence allowances: Those with the city’s subsistence allowance card with valid certificates, half price. Supplementary note: The above information is for reference only. The specific situation is subject to the disclosure on the same day at the Beijing Old Summer Palace scenic area. Service facilities: Parking lot: [Ground parking lot of the Old Summer Palace]. Reference price: ¥6/hour. Address: 430 meters after getting off at Yuanmingyuan Station (Exit C) on Metro Line 4 Daxing Line (towards Anheqiaobei). Number of parking spaces: 110. Scenic area commentary: The Yuanmingyuan tourist center provides rental of electronic tour guide explainers and manual commentary services. Electronic commentary: Varies from 20 yuan to 40 yuan according to language (deposit of 200 yuan). Manual commentary: The price is about 100-200 yuan. Reservation phone number: 010-62628501. Transportation within the park: Reference price: 10 yuan per person for one way. Address: At the junction of the three gardens. Rental of explainers: Reference price: Varies from 20 yuan to 40 yuan according to language (deposit of 200 yuan). Address: Yuanmingyuan tourist center, east gate of Changchun Garden, and palace gate of Qichun Garden. Stroller rental: Reference price: 500 yuan deposit. 10 yuan within 3 hours; 10 yuan per hour for more than 3 hours. Address: Tourist service center. Toilets: There are multiple toilets in the Old Summer Palace, respectively near the north bank of Fuhai, Shewei City, Lvyuemen, etc., and are marked with eye-catching signs.Nursing Room: Location: There is a nursing room near the tourist center of the Old Summer Palace scenic area.
Catering: There are multiple restaurants in the Old Summer Palace, namely Sankongqiao Fast Food, Dashuifa Fast Food Restaurant, Tianxinshuimian Fast Food Restaurant, etc. Souvenir Shops: There are multiple souvenir shops in the Old Summer Palace, namely Jianbiting Beijing Gift Shop and Exhibition Hall Gift Shop.Related posts:
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Wang Xiaoyu’s Annual Travel: A Journey Through Shanghai, Suzhou, and Nanjing (2020.8.14-2020.8.23)
