15km away from downtown Beijing, the Summer Palace is located in the northwestern suburb of Beijing City. The original imperial garden and Xanadu of Qing Dynasty is the best- Preserved and largest ancient imperial garden with the highest cultural value in the world.

Composed by Wanshou Hill and Kunming Lake, the Summer Palace covers and area of 290 hectares or 2.9 million sq meters, four times as large as the Forbidde City. Large expanse of water occupying three - fourth area, the grand palace is home to over3,000 ancient architectures of different styles, including towers, pavilions, corridors and verandas. The Chinese architectural styles find their finest expression in the Summer Palace. Hence it has long been regarded a virtual museum of traditional Chinese gardening.

When did the construction of this palace with enchanting scenery and splendid architectures commence? And whose temporary dwelling place was it? Prior to the sightseeing, let us have a glimpse of its hundreds of years of vicissitudes.

| The Summer Palace |