Summer Palace

All posts tagged Summer Palace

The Summer Palace is such a majestic and immense complex of pavilions, gardens, and views that I had to split it into 3 parts to be able to properly show its beauty. This is the third and last part of the series.
The design of the Summer Palace is based on a Chinese legend about 3 divine mountains, which have been represented as islands in Kunming Lake, while the lake itself was built to resemble the West Lake in Hangzhou, Eastern China. The whole complex is filled with features built to remind the observers of other attractions in China.

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Bridge of Pastoral Poems


When I reached the area next to the West Lake, I was in ecstasy: the panorama was simply astounding. Taking slow steps to fully breath in all that beauty, I followed the path.
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The Summer Palace is such a majestic and immense complex of pavilions, gardens, and views that I had to split it into 3 parts to be able to properly show its beauty. This is the second part of the series.
Longevity Hill stands in the middle of the Summer Palace and allows not only to admire the gardens and Kunming Lake but also see the landscape of Beijing in the distance. On the hill many imponent buildings with very creative names are present.

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Top of the Pavilion of Precious Clouds


The history of the Summer Palace is very interesting as well as tragic: the palace was built in 1750 and was initially named Garden of Clear Ripples and served as imperial garden and temporary palace of the royal family in the Qing Dynasty.
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The Summer Palace is such a majestic and immense complex of pavilions, gardens, and views that I had to split it into 3 parts to be able to properly show its beauty. This is the first part of the series.
It takes about an hour to reach the complex from the city center as the area is located at the outskirts of the city.
The eastern and main entrance of the Summer Palace (頤和園 – Yíhéyuán, literally “to maintain energy and mellow the soul”), with two bronze lions stand guarding the gate, is very formal and imposing, although its features might be easily missed due to the large number of people wanting to enter the palace.

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View of Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill


After having purchased the ticket and entered the premises, only a short walk is needed to reach the very first breathtaking view: Kunming Lake and the Longevity Hill in the background.
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