The Summer Palace - Imperial Garden Museum in Beijing

The Summer Palace, originally a royal resort and garden for the Qing Dynasty emperors, also known as[...]

The Summer Palace, originally a royal resort and garden for the Qing Dynasty emperors, also known as the Garden of Clear Ripples, is built on the foundations of Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, following the design techniques of Jiangnan gardens. It is one of the largest and best-preserved imperial gardens in China, with an elegant scenery and many precious cultural relics, earning it the title of ‘Imperial Garden Museum’.

An overview of the Summer Palace reveals its vast scale, which can be divided into three main areas: the political activity area centered around the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity; the imperial living area with the Jade Ripple Hall and the Hall of Happiness as the main bodies; and the garden touring area dominated by the Long Corridor, the back mountain, and the western district. Approximately three-quarters of the park is occupied by Kunming Lake, with over a hundred buildings including pavilions, terraces, towers, and corridors, totaling more than three thousand rooms.

Among them, the Buddhist Fragrance Pavilion, the Long Corridor, the Stone Boat, Suzhou Street, and the Seventeen-Arch Bridge are well-known representative structures that should not be missed when visiting the Summer Palace.

Boating on Kunming Lake is a way to tour the Summer Palace. In addition to visiting the resplendent palace buildings, one can take a pleasure boat within the scenic area to cruise on Kunming Lake, which is both relaxing and conducive to sightseeing. There are eight boat docks within the park: the Octagonal Pavilion, Wenchang Pavilion, Jade Ripple Hall, Cloud Disposing Hall, Stone Measure Pavilion, Bronze Ox, Stone Boat, and South Lake Island, offering five different types of boats: pedal boats, rowing boats, electric boats, dragon boats, and large painted barges. The prices and routes of the boats vary, allowing visitors to choose according to their needs.

Dining in the Summer Palace: Given the large size of the Summer Palace, it takes at least 4-5 hours to complete a full tour. When feeling tired or hungry, one can sit down to recharge. There are three fast-food kiosks in the park, located at Zhichun Pavilion, East Nine Rooms of Cloud Disposing Hall, and Stone Measure Pavilion, mainly offering daily meals and noodles at relatively reasonable prices. For a more thematic experience, there is a traditional restaurant specializing in imperial cuisine: the Orioles Singing Pavilion, where one can taste food with a royal flavor, although the prices are higher than regular dishes.

Opening Hours: From April 1st to October 31st, the park is open from 06:00 to 20:00; from November 1st to March 31st, it is open from 06:30 to 19:00. The paid courtyards are open from 08:00 to 18:00 during the peak season (April 1st to October 31st), with last entry at 17:30; and from 08:30 to 17:00 during the off-peak season (November 1st to March 31st), with last entry at 16:30. The inner gardens are closed on Mondays.

Preferential Policies: Children under 6 years old (inclusive) or under 1.2 meters (inclusive) are free (including the inner gardens); seniors over 60 years old (inclusive) with valid identification are free; disabled persons with a disability certificate are free; active and retired military personnel (excluding veterans) with valid documents are free; minors aged 6 to 18 years old are half price; full-time university undergraduate and below students with a valid student ID and identification are half price; social security recipients with a social security certificate are half price; armed police and firefighters with valid documents are free; holders of the ‘Beijing Tong – Elderly and Disabled Card’ are free; and tourists with a Taiwan Compatriot Certificate issued ’01’ times are free for the first entrance ticket to the Summer Palace (excluding separately charged scenic spots within the park, and not applicable to combined tickets or package tickets).

Supplementary Note: On International Women’s Day and Youth Day, group visitors with organizational letters can purchase discounted tickets.

On International Children’s Day (‘June 1st’), children can enter the park free of charge. For children and primary school students on group outings, if the leading teacher does not exceed 10% of the children they bring, they can also enter the park free of charge. Tour guides leading groups to the park must present the official tour guide certificate issued by the state, travel agency itinerary, and dispatch list to enter the park for free. Unlicensed tour guides or those with non-compliant certificates must purchase tickets to enter the park.

Service facilities

Parking lot: [Main Entrance of the Summer Palace – Parking Lot]. Reference price: ¥9/hour. Address: Inside the Summer Palace, 19 Xinjian Gongmen Road, Haidian District, Beijing. Parking spaces: 102. Segmented billing, different prices for large and small vehicles.

WIFI: Account: mybeijing (requires registration). Password: no password. Coverage: the whole scenic area.

Scenic area interpretation: 1. The tour guide services of the Summer Palace include electronic audio tour guides, mobile phone navigation apps, and tour guide explanations. 2. Electronic audio tour guides are distributed at the East Palace Gate, North Palace Gate, North Ruyi Gate, Newly-built Palace Gate, and South Ruyi Gate (only for returning machines). The interpretation languages are 19 languages.

4. Mobile phone navigation can be downloaded and installed on the official website of the Summer Palace or by searching for the keyword ‘Summer Palace’ in major online application stores and downloading and installing the ‘Summer Palace_Official Version’ mobile application. 4. Tour guide explanations. Reception stations are distributed in the areas of the East Palace Gate, North Palace Gate, and Newly-built Palace Gate, providing multilingual tour guide services in Chinese, English, Russian, and other languages for Chinese and foreign tourists.

Transportation within the park: Reference price: Rowboat: 60 yuan/hour (4 seats). Pedal boat: 60 yuan/hour (4 seats). Pedal boat: 80 yuan/hour (6 seats). Battery-powered boat: 120 yuan/hour (6 seats). Antique battery-powered boat: 180 yuan/hour (6 seats). Address: 1. Eight Directions Pavilion (rowboat, pedal boat). 2. Wenchang Pavilion (battery-powered boat, pedal boat). 3. Yulan Hall (pedal boat). 4. Paiyun Dian (battery-powered boat, pedal boat). Types of cruise ships: ferry boats, rowboats, pedal boats, battery-powered boats.

Stroller rental: Address: Tourist center.

Wheelchair rental: Reference price: free, a deposit of 500 yuan is required.

Restrooms: There are restrooms at the scenic area ticket office and tourist center, marked with eye-catching signs. All restrooms in the Summer Palace are equipped with barrier-free facilities. Among them, there are 6 barrier-free independent restrooms, located at Yangyunxuan, Banbi Bridge, South Entrance of Xidi, Nanhu Island, south of Farming and Weaving Picture, and north of Farming and Weaving Picture.

Nursing room: Address: There is a nursing room near the tourist center of the Summer Palace scenic area.

Catering: There are beverage shops and restaurants in the scenic area.