Summer Palace

Curiously, Tihetuan, the Chinese name for the place known in English as The Summer Palace, does not actually mean “Summer Palace”. It roughly translates as the garden of peace with “peace” being used in the context of ‘no rebellion”.

The Summer Palace was first named the Garden of Clear Ripples, which was burnt down by the allied forces of Great Britain and France in 1860. Reconstruction started 25 years later and was completed in 1895, and the name was changed to Yiheyuan (Garden of Good Health and Harmony). The design gives prominence to the Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. The total area is 290 hectares, and the buildings are measured in over 3,000 bays.

Some buildings in the Summer Palace are :

1. Foxiang (Buddha Fragrance) Pavilion - It stands on a 21-meter-high stone terrace on the sheer front side of the Longevity Hill. It overlooks Kunming Lake in front and Zhihuihai Buddha Hall in the back. Other buildings stretch on either side of it in a neat symmetrical pattern. The tower was burnt down by British and French soldiers in 1860 and a new one was built on the site later.
2. Marble Boat - also known as Qingyanfang, it was made with huge stone blocks in 1755. The 36-meter-long immovable boat has two tiers. It was placed in the lake to symbolize the steadfast rule of the Qing Dynasty.
3. Grand Opera Tower – The imperial theater in the Dehe Garden is the largest of its kind in China today. It is 21 meters high and has three floors. An opening is in the ceiling of the first floor, in which a winch could lower performers and props down onto the first floor. Performers could appear on the three floors at the same time.
4. Leshou (Happy Longevity) Hall – The large courtyard was the living quarters of Empress Dowager Ci Xi. The red pillars and gray gabled roof display a unique style of architecture.
5. Long Corridor – The 728-meter-long corridor runs from a moon gate in the east to Shizhang Pavilion in the west. All the 273 sections are decorated with more than 8.000 paintings of landscapes, flowers and human figures. It is the longest and most famous corridor in the world.
6. Bronze Bull - Built of marble and white stone, the Jade Belt Bridge has a high arch and is one of the six bridges on the West Shore on Kunming Lake.