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The 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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