With a long history and many events marking, the Summer Palace is not only known as a royal national park, it is also seen by many travelers with the feel of perspective of culture and history in fairyland scenery. Located about 15 km northwest of the city of Beijing, the Summer Palace is a royal park with many ancient cultural values, history of many dynasties in China. Covering an area of about 300 hectares, the Summer Palace is a palace of the beautiful architectural works. This is the largest and well-protected royal part in China and it played an important part when influences Chinese gardening and landscape with its spectacular natural views and cultural interests.
The summer palace was first built in 1750 as an elegant garden of royal families to relax and entertain and become the home to royal family in the end of Qing Dynasty. It was destroyed later under the fire of war by allied military of France and England. The summer palace was formerly named “Qingyi Garden” and named Yiheyuan (Summer Palace) after its reconstruct in 1888. The palace was damaged again in 1900 and was completely repaired in 1902. It was opened to public in 1924 and recognized as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1998. The Summer Palace is one of the most popular tourist destinations in China you should not be missed when traveling in China.
