The Summer Palace (Di Hoa Vien) is likened to a paradise on earth. Explore Di Hoa Vien with Focus Asia Travel!

This is one of the ideal destinations when traveling to Beijing. Summer Palace is the largest flower garden in China, featuring feng shui architecture, taking advantage of mountains and rivers to create a masterpiece landscape.

A brief introduction to Summer Palace.

The Summer Palace, also known as “Qingyiyuan”, is located in the suburbs, about 15 km northwest of Beijing.

It was built by Emperor Qianlong during the Qing Dynasty from 1750 to 1764. Its original name was Qingyiyuan. Kunming Lake is an artificial lake that supplies water to the garden as well as the surrounding agricultural areas. The excavated soil was brought to the nearby hill, which is now called Longevity Hill.

In the 1860s, the Summer Palace was demolished. It was later rebuilt by Emperor Guangxu in 1888 and renamed Yíhéyuán (Garden of Preserving Harmony). In 1900, the Summer Palace was demolished again. Reconstruction was carried out in 1902. In 1924, the Summer Palace was opened as a public park.

In 1998, the Summer Palace was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

On March 4, 1961, the Summer Palace was declared a national protected monument and was listed as a World Heritage Site on December 2, 1998. By 2017, the palace had been approved by the National Tourism Administration as a national tourist attraction. In addition, it was voted the largest imperial garden in China.

Summer Palace Architecture.

When you arrive at the Summer Palace, you will enter a garden with beautiful architecture, large scale, total area up to 293 hectares. This place is divided into two areas, including Kunming Lake and Van Tho Mountain.

The interior architecture includes more than 3,000 rooms and is divided into separate areas, including an administrative area, a sightseeing area, and a residential area.

Summer Palace is located on a large area, of which Kunming Lake and Longevity Mountain account for 3/4. Coming here, visitors will be immersed in an ancient and poetic space, worthy of being an ancient architectural masterpiece of China. The palace is divided into 3 main parts: the sightseeing area, the administrative area and the living area.

Summer Palace is located on a large area.

The administrative area is the Ren Thu Hall – where Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi held court and received distinguished guests. Behind are three large houses – where the emperor, empress dowager and concubines lived. To the east is the Dehe Yuan Theatre, one of the largest theatres during the Qing Dynasty.

From the top of Truong Sinh Mountain, visitors can see Lac Tho Duong, Truong Lang, Thinh Ly Quan… Right at the foot of the mountain is a path more than 700 m long, on the beams hung more than 8,000 colored paintings. This place is often called “the world’s first corridor”. Behind Truong Sinh Mountain and Kunming Lake are Tibetan architectural temples and a long-standing shopping street.

The best time to visit the Summer Palace.

Coming to Summer Palace, you will admire many wonderful things. Arrange your time to go from September to October to immerse yourself in the cool autumn atmosphere, enjoy the cool breeze from the buildings and gardens.

The opening hours of the Summer Palace will be divided by season, with different peak and low seasons. Specifically:

Peak season from April 1 to October 31

Peak season from April 1 to October 31

Open from 06:00 am to 07:00 pm, last admission at 08:00 pm
Deheyuan area, Foxiangge, Suzhou Street and the Summer Palace Museum are open from 08:00 am to 05:30 pm, last admission at 06:00 pm.
Low season 1/11 – 31/3

Open from 06:30am – 06:00pm, last admission at 07:00pm
Deheyuan, Foxiangge, Suzhou Street and Summer Palace Museum areas open from 08:30am – 04:30pm, last admission at 05:00pm.

You will admire many wonderful things.

Directions to Summer Palace, Beijing China.

The Summer Palace is located at No. 19 Xinjiangmen Road, Haidian District. It is located in the western suburbs of Beijing, 15km from the downtown area and 23km from Tiananmen Square, about a 55-minute drive, and 37km from Beijing Capital International Airport, a 47-minute drive.

The Summer Palace can be reached by taxi, subway, bus, and by private tour like ours.

Visit the Summer Palace, Beijing.

– Suzhou Street: is the first place visitors will encounter if they enter from the North Palace Gate. The entrance ticket to Suzhou is included in the initial ticket. If visitors do not purchase a package ticket, they will have to pay 10 CNY (about 35,000 VND) to enter Suzhou Street.

– Kunming Lake: is the most beautiful part of the Summer Palace, designed with a scale of more than 2.9 square kilometers, of which 2.2 square kilometers is water. Therefore, the layout here clearly shows the style of West Lake, China.

Visit the Summer Palace

– Van Tho Son: stands out with a peak over 60m high. Interestingly, this is an artificial mountain, designed to surround the Summer Palace, creating a solid protective wall.

– Thap That Khong Bridge: 150m long, 18m wide, including 17 spans. Walking on the bridge, you will see 500 sculptures with many different shapes and animals.

– Thanh Yen Phang: made entirely from Han white jade, appeared during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in 1755. On it, you will see many sculptures with very delicate dragon patterns.

– And many other interesting destinations.

Visit the Summer Palace, Beijing.

Some notes when visiting the Summer Palace.

Things to note when visiting the Summer Palace:

When visiting the Summer Palace, you need to strictly follow all the rules such as no climbing, smoking, etc.

Do not use camera equipment in the palace.

Do not hire an outside tour guide, but hire someone in the palace to share the most accurate information possible.

When visiting the Summer Palace in winter, you need to dress warmly. If you come in the summer, you should bring a hat to avoid the heat.

You need to dress warmly

Don’t miss this unforgettable adventure and be sure to add the Summer Palace to your travel list.