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Summer Palace
 The
Summer Palace, located ten kilometers
to the northwest of Beijing, used
to be a summer residence of Qing Dynasty
emperors and is now a public park.
It is an imperial garden known far
and wide for its architectural grandeur
and stunning natural beauty.
Construction of the Summer Palace
started in 1750. The northern part of the
Summer Palace is the 60-meter-tall Longevity
Hill. Its southern part is a wide expanse
of water called Kunming Lake. The whole
garden covers 290 hectares, with the lake
taking up four-fifths of its total area.
A cluster of grand buildings
adorn the middle section of the Longevity
Hill. On the slope from the lakeside to
the hilltop stand: a decorated archway called
Jade-Like Firmament in Bright Colors, Cloud-Dispelling
Hall, Hall of Virtuous Brilliance, Pavilion
of Buddhist Incense and Temple of the Sea
of Wisdom. Standing on the top of the hill,
a visitor commands a spectacular view of
buildings of different shapes and sizes
down below, their golden roofs glittering
under the sun; the placid, huge Kunming
Lake dotted with rowing boats; a 17-arch
bridge that connects an island with the
lake's southern bank; the long, winding
west bank of the lake joined by six bridges;
and the distant West Hills.
 Along
the northern bank of Kunming Lake
runs the Long Corridor with a total
length of 728 meters and 273 sections.
It is like a necklace for Longevity
Hill. Strolling in the corridor, a
visitor sees an endless lineup of
corridor stands stretching into the
distance or curving away elegantly
at soft angles as well as Kunming
Lake sparkling under the sun. The
crossbeams of the Long Corridor are
decorated with more than 8,000 color
paintings with Chinese landscape and
historical stories as their themes.
The 17-arch bridge on the southern
bank of Kunming Lake is more than 150 meters
long. Carved stone lions, of different sizes
and postures, sit on top of the bridge's
stone columns. An octagonal pavilion stands
at one end of the bridge and near the pavilion
lies a bronze ox with its head raised toward
the lake. On the back of the ox is engraved
a line from Emperor Qianlong stating that
the ox is used to control flooding of the
lake.
 A
Ming-style street winds along a stretch
of water on the back side of Longevity
Hill. The Suzhou Street, 300 meters
long, is lined with more than 60 shops
and decorated with archways and gateways.
The shops, of different shapes and
sizes, are built with bluish gray
tiles and bricks. The marketplace
lends a folksy flavor to the imperial
garden.
In 1998, the Summer Palace was
added to UNESCO's World Heritage List.
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