Old Summer Palace Travel Guide

Scenic spot introduction:

The Old Summer Palace is a royal garden built by five generations of Qing emperors. It is known as the "Garden of Gardens", "Model of World Gardens", "Versailles of the East" and many other beautiful names. The park is located in Haidian District, western suburbs of Beijing, close to the Summer Palace. Changchun Garden The gardens are composed of three gardens: the Imperial Garden, the Imperial Palace, the Imperial Palace, and the Wanchun Garden. There were originally more than 100 gardens and landscapes. They were once famous for their grand regional scale, outstanding construction skills, exquisite architectural landscapes, rich cultural collections and profound national cultural connotations. The gardens were destroyed by the British and French forces in 1860, and now only a garden site covering an area of about 5,300 acres remains.
The garden was basically completed in the 18th century during the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1709 AD) and was given by Emperor Kangxi to Emperor Yongzheng, who had not yet ascended the throne, to pass his free time. After Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne in 1722, he expanded the Old Summer Palace and built a new garden in the south of the garden. Changchun Garden , and Wanchun Garden was incorporated into its southeast neighbor, and the layout of the three Yuanming gardens was basically formed.
The Old Summer Palace was burned down by the British and French allied forces in 1860, and roughly 1.5 million cultural relics were looted, ranging from bronze ritual vessels from the pre-Qin period to paintings and calligraphy by famous people from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as various rare treasures. In 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, and the royal gardens in the western suburbs suffered another disaster. During the Anti-Japanese War, it was damaged to varying degrees.

Attractions distribution:

The Old Summer Palace consists of the Old Summer Palace, Changchun Garden It is composed of three closely connected gardens, collectively known as the Old Summer Palace, which covers a total area of more than 5,200 acres (about 350 hectares), which is nearly 1,000 acres larger than the entire area of the Summer Palace. It is a large royal palace created and operated by the feudal emperors of the Qing Dynasty over 150 years.
The construction of the Old Summer Palace began in 1709, the 46th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign. It was originally a garden bestowed by Emperor Kangxi on his fourth son Yinzhen (later Emperor Yongzheng). In 1707, the 46th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, it had begun to take shape. In November of the same year, Emperor Kangxi visited the Old Summer Palace in person. After Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne in 1723, he expanded the original garden and added the Zhengda Guangming Hall and Qinzheng Hall in the south of the garden as well as the duty rooms of the Cabinet, the Six Ministries, and the Grand Council, so that the emperor could "avoid the noise and listen to government affairs." Emperor Qianlong reigned for 60 years, and he spent millions of silver on the construction and renovation of the Old Summer Palace year after year. In addition to the partial expansion and reconstruction of the Old Summer Palace, he also built a new one in the east. Changchun Garden , merged with the southeastern neighbor Yee Chun Garden By 1770, the 35th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign, the layout of the three Yuanming Gardens was basically formed. Yee Chun Garden During the reign of Emperor Daoguang, the country was in decline and financial resources were insufficient, but the emperor would rather remove the furnishings of the "Three Mountains" of Wanshou, Xiangshan and Yuquan, stop the summer vacation in Rehe and the hunting in Mulan, but still did not give up the reconstruction and decoration of the three Yuanming Gardens.
Since the five emperors of the Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xianfeng dynasties all lived in the Old Summer Palace for many years, enjoying themselves, holding court meetings and handling state affairs there, the Old Summer Palace and the Forbidden City (Palace Museum) were both the national political centers at the time and were specifically called "Imperial Gardens" by the Qing emperors.

Scenic spot qualifications:

National 4A-level scenic spot

Scenic spot features:

Nostalgia, garden tours, outings, gardens, architecture, relics

Scenic spot map: