The Summer Palace

Aronica Lee Xavier★★★★★★★★★★5.02 weeks ago

A must see when visiting Beijing. The summer palace is breathtaking with the view and breeze of the Kunming lake. We entered via the East gate and purchasing the ticket was easy. There is a counter to the right that offers audio guide tape as you enter. They require a deposit of ¥50 per person. Rental is only ¥40. Deposit is refunded upon return of the ear piece and tape. We recommend taking a boat ride from the island to the summer palace dock or vice versa. Only ¥20 for a quick ride across the lake. There are approx 100 steps leading up to the summer palace. Take a nice slow climb up. The view from above is great.

Sharad Kambale★★★★★★★★★★4.0a week ago

Summer Palace is a massive park and palace with a beautiful adjacent lake. The palace consists of multiple attractions within the complex and it is recommended to purchase a combined ticket for the Suzhou Street, Tower of Incense and Garden of Virtue and Harmony. While the Suzhou Street is a major attraction - when we were there was empty and we thought was closed. Thinking we could return back late - big mistake. The whole place is so massive and has so many confusing winding roads, that once you leave the north entrance where the street is, you will not feel like coming back. Also, if it is so famous, why was it empty? Anyways - while the palace and its internal buildings are iconic, the one thing that stood was that each and every building in the complex has a plaque that said "destoryed by french and british forces in...and restored..". There was more focus on external influence than on what purpose a particular building served. Despite this the place is impressive and certain points in the palace provide a panaromic view of the city - both from the North side when entering from the North Gate and then from the temple of incense overlooking the Lake and the southern part of the city. The climb up the ToIncense is pretty steep but worth it. The long corridor is impressive. The entire palace is mostly visited by locals who come there to unwind and relax by the lake and the long corridor. There are many boating options from multiple locations, but are not cheap. The whole palace is a 1 day trip in itself and can get very tiring if one tries to cover everything in a short span of time. However all is worth it. Advance booking is not required as we were able to get one on the spot on a weekend. Also the picturesque photo shown everywhere of the palace is long way off from the palace itself.

S L Chong★★★★★★★★★★4.0a month ago

We visited this historic palace built during the Qing Dynasty that has a large man made lake. The buildings are very well preserved and there are several very nice bridges here. It was a nice stroll along the lake and we also took the boat ride on the lake.

Angeliki Cha★★★★★★★★★★5.03 months ago

The Summer Palace is perhaps the most iconic place I visited in China. A beautiful site with impressive architecture, peaceful lakes, and gardens that reflect the country’s imperial history. 🇨🇳

Michael★★★★★★★★★★4.04 weeks ago

A very big lake within. To walk one round the lake, it will probably take you 3-4 hours easily, that’s excluding visiting the areas up the hill - super huge. You can also take the boat to go round the lake. Place is super crowded.