Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing
The Summer Palace in Beijing – first built in 1750, largely destroyed in the war of 1860 and restored on its original foundations in 1886 – is a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetaic value.
Long Description
The imperial Chinese garden, illustrated by the Summer Palace, is a potent symbol of one of the major world civilizations. The Summer Palace epitomizes the philosophy and practice of Chinese garden design, which played a key role in the development of this cultural form throughout the east.
Between 1750 and 1764 the Qing Emperor Qianlong created the Garden of Clear Ripples (Summer Palace), extending the area of the lake and carrying out other improvements based on the hill and its landscape. During the Second Opium War (1856-60) the garden and its buildings were destroyed by the allied forces. Between 1886 and 1895 it was reconstructed by Emperor Guangxu and renamed the Summer Palace, for use by Empress Dowager Cixi. It was damaged in 1900 by the international expeditionary force during the suppression of the Boxer Rising and restored two years later. It became a public park in 1924.
The Summer Palace covers an area of 2.97 km2 , three-quarters of which is covered by water. The main framework is supplied by the Hill of Longevity and Kunming Lake, complemented by man-made features. It is designed on a grandiose scale, commensurate with its role as an imperial garden. It is divided into three areas, each with its particular function: political and administrative activities, residence, and recreation and sightseeing.
The political area is reach by means of the monumental East Palace Gate. The central feature is the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, an imposing structure with its own courtyard garden. This area connects directly with the residential area, which is made up of three complexes of buildings. The Hall of Happiness in Longevity was the palace of Cixi and the Hall of Jade Ripples that of Guangxu and his empress, whereas the Hall of Yiyun housed his concubines. These buildings are all built up against the Hill of Longevity, with fine views over the lake, and are connected to one another by means of roofed corridors. These communicate with the Great Stage to the east and the Long Corridor (728 m), with more than 10,000 paintings on its walls and ceilings, to the west. In front of the Hall of Happiness in Longevity there is a wooden quay giving access by water to their quarters for the imperial family. The remainder of the Summer Palace, some 90% of the total area, is given over to recreation and sightseeing. The steeper northern side of the Hill of Longevity is a tranquil area, through which a stream follows a winding course.
There are many halls and pavilions disposed within the overall frame provided by the lake and the low hills around them. The Tower of the Fragrance of Buddha forms the centre of the structures on the south side of the hill. It is octagonal in plan and its three storeys rise to a height of 41 m. It is supported on eight massive pillars of lignum vitae and roofed with a great variety of glazed tiles. East of the Tower is the Revolving Archive, a Buddhist structure with a pillar on which is carved an account of the creation of the garden. To the west are the Wu Fang Pavilion and the Baoyun Bronze Pavilion constructed entirely in bronze.
Between the Tower and the lake is the complex known as the Hall that Dispels the Clouds. Other pavilions and halls cluster around these main features. Kunming Lake has many of the features of the natural scenery of the region south of the Yangtze River. It contains three large islands.
The South Lake Island is linked to the East Dyke by the stately Seventeen Arch Bridge. The West Dike consciously follows the style of the famous Sudi Dyke built in the West Lake at Hangzhou during the Song dynasty in the 13th century; six bridges in different styles along its length lend variety to the view as seen up against the background of the West Hill, which is an essential feature of the overall design of the garden.
Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC
Historical Description
During the reigns of the Qing Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong (1663-1795) several imperial gardens were created around Beijing, the last of them being the Summer Palace, based on the Hill of Longevity and Kunming Lake in the north-western suburbs of the city.
Kunming Lake (known earlier as Wengshan Pond and Xihu Lake) had been used as a source of water for irrigation and for supplying the city for some 3500 years. It was developed as a reservoir for Yuan Dadu, capital of the Yuan Dynasty, by Guo Shoujing, a famous scientist of the period, in 1291. Between 1750 and 1764 Emperor Qianlong created the Garden of Clear Ripples, extending the area of the lake and carrying out other improvements based on the hill and its landscape. It was to serve as the imperial garden for him and for his successors, Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Xianfeng.
During the Second Opium War (1856-60) the garden and its buildings were destroyed by the allied forces. Between 1886 and 1895 it was reconstructed by Emperor Guangxu and renamed the Summer Palace, for use by Empress Dowager Cixi. It was badly damaged in 1900 by the international expeditionary force during the suppression of the Boxer Rising, in which Cixi had played a significant role, and restored two years later.
The Summer Palace became a public park in 1924 and has continued as such to the present day.
颐和园英文导游词 篇一：颐和园英文介绍 Welcome to the Summer Palace. I hope this will be an interesting and enjoyable day for you . The construction of the Summer Palace first started in 1750. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was in its heyday and China was a powerful Asian country with vast territories. The monarch in power then was Emperor Qianlong. With supreme power and large sums of money, he summoned skillful and ingenious artisans from all over the country to carry out this construction work in honor of his mother `s birthday. the Summer Palace can be divided into two parts: Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake .The whole garden covers an area of 290 hectares, of whih three- fourths consists of a lake and rivers .This imperial garden features 3,000 room-units and covers an expanse of 70,000 square meters with more than 100 picturesque spots of interest. The layout of the Summer Palace includes three groups of architectures: palaces where the emperor attended to state affairs, resting palaces of the emperor and empress, and sightseeing areas. Entering the East Gate we will come the the office quarters. Entering the East gate we will come to the office quarters. The annex halls on both sides were used for officials on duty. 篇二：英文 导游词 ：颐和园昆明湖景区 签10.颐和园昆明湖景区（昆明湖名称含义；西堤；东堤；湖中诸岛） Kunming Lake covers the three quarters of the whole Summer Palace. the name of the lake came from “Kunming Pool” in Changan, made by Emperor Wu Di in the Han Dynasty for training his soldiers. Qing Emperor Qianlong just followed the example of Han Wu Di and gave the name Kunming Lake. To the west of Kunming Lake, there is a long causeway on the Lake, which is called “West Dyke”, patterned after the Su Dyke in West Lake in Hangzhou. Along the Dyke there are six bridges separate the lake into two parts. The Jade Belt Bridge is the most beautiful bridge among the six bridges in the west dyke. Its high-arched body looks just like a jade belt,
A Trip to the Summer Palace 08级西语系四班李想2008061032 It is said that the weather of Beijing is most desirable in autumn. Looking overhead, I saw but a vast dustless cerulean canopy overarching above, so high and distant as if out of man's reach. This, together with the cozy sunshine and refreshing wind, all at once swept the dust and tiredness from my mind. On such a fine morning, I paid my visit to the Summer Palace. I arrived there around 9 o'clock and since it was the seven day long holiday, inevitably, there were indeed a tremendous number of tourists. And the scene at the entrance was really chaotic: crowds of anxious tourists here and there, air pervaded with the smog emitted by congested buses and cars, noises of tour guides' speakers and vehicles' horns. Yet the ancient garden mysteriously excluded those commotions all. Roaming along the slightly sloping paths in Longevity Hill, I was completed en veloped by an atmosphere of extreme tranquility. You saw long tailed birds staggering in funny manner. You heard the twitte ring and giggling of birds of various tones and tunes. You felt the course and mute body of old trees, which, with their never the same postures did inspire different vagaries. And never would you expect to come across such pretty creatures as squirrels scampering naughtily and boldly on the sheeny grass. So I strolled there, dreaming that one day I could just live near the Summer Palace, so that I could visit here every dawn in all seasons and weathers; so that I could get acquainted with all these lovely trees and flowers and animals; so that I could find any quiet recess to idle away as many hours as I liked without being hasty because I was just a tourist. Soon I reached the Attic of Buddha Fragrance that stood in the middle of the hill facing the Kunming Lake. Here the land scape of nature and a maze of architecture integrated perfectly.Stop for a while and look out of the windows on the finely decorated corridors in different angles and varying scenery came into your sight, sometimes distant mountains with the vague image of a tower; sometimes a vista of all the halls and attics and gates and pagoda; sometimes the vast glittering lake spotted with numerous boats and yachts. Going down the Longevity Hill and passing the zigzag corridors and the stone boat of ingenious design, I stepped on the long causeway, a bundle of narrow islands linked by bridges, diriding the Kunming Lake into two parts. It also rendered the lake two diametrically different temperaments. On one side was that sparkling paradise, vibrant with joy and sunshine. The other side seemed almost reclusive, like a huge, immaculate crystal in laid in earth, absorbing and reflecting the subtle complexion of heaven, a deep blue with stretches of mildly bright luster, mingled with the green silhouette of trees at the far end of the lake.The near-bank side was covered by a carpet of luxuriant lotus,and though it wasn't summer, their verdant leaves did infuse much life into the landscape. There being no wind, its surface looked like an expanse of unruffled silk. And when some gentle breeze wrinkled it, uninterrupted ripples of great diameter silently slided, one by one, thus produced a soft palette of flowing and
Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing The Summer Palace in Beijing – first built in 1750, largely destroyed in the war of 1860 and restored on its original foundations in 1886 – is a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetaic value. Long Description The imperial Chinese garden, illustrated by the Summer Palace, is a potent symbol of one of the major world civilizations. The Summer Palace epitomizes the philosophy and practice of Chinese garden design, which played a key role in the development of this cultural form throughout the east. Between 1750 and 1764 the Qing Emperor Qianlong created the Garden of Clear Ripples (Summer Palace), extending the area of the lake and carrying out other improvements based on the hill and its landscape. During the Second Opium War (1856-60) the garden and its buildings were destroyed by the allied forces. Between 1886 and 1895 it was reconstructed by Emperor Guangxu and renamed the Summer Palace, for use by Empress Dowager Cixi. It was damaged in 1900 by the international expeditionary force during the suppression of the Boxer Rising and restored two years later. It became a public park in 1924. The Summer Palace covers an area of 2.97 km2 , three-quarters of which is covered by water. The main framework is supplied by the Hill of Longevity and Kunming Lake, complemented by man-made features. It is designed on a grandiose scale, commensurate with its role as an imperial garden. It is divided into three areas, each with its particular function: political and administrative activities, residence, and recreation and sightseeing. The political area is reach by means of the monumental East Palace Gate. The central feature is the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, an imposing structure with its own courtyard garden. This area connects directly with the residential area, which is made up of three complexes of buildings. The Hall of Happiness in Longevity was the palace of Cixi and the Hall of Jade Ripples that of Guangxu and his empress, whereas the Hall of Yiyun housed his concubines. These buildings are all built up against the Hill of Longevity, with fine views over the lake, and are connected to one another by means of roofed corridors. These communicate with the Great Stage to the east and the Long Corridor (728 m), with more than 10,000 paintings on its walls and ceilings, to the west. In front of the Hall of Happiness in Longevity there is a wooden quay giving access by water to their quarters for the imperial family. The remainder of the Summer Palace, some 90% of the total area, is given over to recreation and sightseeing. The steeper northern side of the Hill of Longevity is a tranquil area, through which a stream follows a winding course.
The Temple of Heaven The Temple of Heaven is a worthwhile visiting place in Beijing. It is much bigger than the Imperial Palace (the Forbidden City) and smaller than the Summer Palace with an area of about 2 700 000 square meters. The temple was built in 1420 A.D. in the Ming Dynasty to offer sacrifice to Heaven. As Chinese emperors called themselves “the Son of Heaven”, they dared not to build their own dwelling “Forbidden City” bigger than the dwelling for Heaven. The Temple of Heaven is enclosed with a long wall. The northern part within the wall is semicircular symbolizing the heavens and the southern part is square symbolizing the earth. The northern part is higher than the southern part. This design shows that the heaven is high and the earth is low and reflects an ancient Chinese thought of “The heaven is round and the earth is square”. The Temple of Heaven is divided by two enclosed walls into inner part and outer part. The main buildings of the temple lie at the south and north ends of the middle axis line of the inner part. The most magnificent buildings from south to north are the Circular Terrace, the Imperial Heavenly Vault and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. Also, there are some additional buildings like Three Echo Stones and Echo Wall. Circular Terrace has three layered terraces with white marble. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368A.D.~1911A.D.), the emperors would offer sacrifices to Heaven on the day of the Winter Solstice every year. This ceremony was to thank Heaven and hope everything would be good in the future. Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is a big palace with round roof and three layers of eaves, the roof is covered with black, yellow and green colored glaze representing the heavens, the earth and everything on earth. Another important building in the Temple of Heaven is Imperial Heavenly Vault. If you look at it from far away, you will find that the vault is like a blue umbrella. The structure of it is like that of Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, but smaller in
The Old Summer Palace which is also known as the Ruins of the Old Summer Palace or the Garden of Perfection and Light is located northwest of Beijing and to the east of the (present-day) Summer Palace. The Garden was first constructed in the year of 1709 during the reign of the Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Over the next 150 years of the Qing Dynasty, this Garden was expanded to be a large-scale Chinese emperors' private pleasure garden, covering a total area of 350 hectares (over 864 acres). Generally speaking, the Old Summer Palace consists of three parts - The Old Summer Palace, Wanchunyuan (the Garden of Blossoming Spring) and Changchunyuan (the Garden of Eternal Spring). These three gardens are often referred to as one common name: The Old Summer Palace. There are hundreds of scenic spots in the Garden. Indeed, it embodies the essence of Chinese ancient landscape gardening. To be distinct from other traditional Chinese Gardens, the garden construction and horticulture of The Old Summer Palace is a harmonious blend of typical Chinese scenery and western architecture. A lot of famous scenic spots were included, for example, the Grand Waterworks, the Throne for viewing the Waterworks and the Labyrinth. No wonder The Old Summer Palace was also called the 'garden of gardens' or the 'Versailles of the East' in the Europe during that era. Furthermore, the Old Summer Palace was also an imperial museum that collected a large number of books, treasures and cultural artifacts. However, a large number of these collections were plundered by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860, at the same time as the Garden was burnt down. Now, most of these historical curiosities are displayed in the other countries' museums, including the British Museum; Bibliotheque National de France; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA; Oslo Museum of Applied Art and so on. The Old Summer Palace is creating a scale, magnificent scenery of large gardens. Plain water, Daniel rockery garden, refined wide plant trees, flowers. In succession, tortuous surface and hills, dance halls and pavilions, islands and bridge, will be wide causeway into space size 100 landscape encircle, interest in different scenery. The water park area of three tenths of four, on flat surface, artificial digging medium by the river flow of disciplinary entangles series for a complete system of lakes. Park and compose fold have greatly small seen heaped-up mountains, and 250 combining with water, water for water, mountain, constitute the mountain after water transfer, folds of garden space. Make whole garden as the jiangnan YanShui blurred, though: by people do, wan since opening day. The Old Summer Palace reflected in ancient garden art, is the essence of the most outstanding at a large garden. The emperor said it: "Real treasure of the
World Cultural Heritage------The Summer Palace BRIEF INTRODUCTION The Summer Palace is located on the northwest outskirts of Beijing, about 20 kilometers away from the center of the city. It is the best-preserved imperial garden in the world and one of the largest of its kind still in existence in China today. The Summer Palace is formed mainly of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. It occupies a total area of over 290 hectares. Longevity Hill covers one quarter of the total area, which is about 70 hectares, while Kunming Lake covers the rest of the three quarters, which is about 220 hectares. Longevity Hill is an extension of the Western Hills. While Kunming Lake used to get water from the springs of Jade Spring Hill, which lies to its west. The peaks of the Western Hills and the pagoda on Jade Spring Hill can be seen in the distance. This is a typical method in garden-building, known as “borrowing the scenery from a distance”. The Summer Palace is very famous in the world not only because it is an ingenious combination of man-made architecture with the scenic beauty of nature, but also it is an architectural masterpiece and treasure of the traditional are of Chinese gardening. The Summer Palace harmoniously combines artificial and natural attractions into a picturesque landscape. HISTORY OF THE SUMMER PALACE The Summer Palace has a history of over 800 years, which goes back to the Liao and Jin Dynasties. The Summer Palace was first built in 1153 during the Jin Dynasty. At that time the hill was called Golden Hill and the lake was called Golden Water Pond. During the Yuan Dynasty, the hill’s na me was changed into Jar Hill, because it was said that an old man had drug up a jar from the hill. And then the lake was changed to Jar Hill Pond. In the Ming Dynasty it was named West Lake. In 1494 Yuanjing Temple was built on the Jar Hill, and later Ming Emperor Zhengde named this area the Wonderful Imperial Garden. All this wonderful scenery and structures made a good foundation and offered a great advantage for the later Garden of Clear Ripples in the Qing Dynasty.During the Qing Dynasty the famous “Three Hills and Five Gardens” were built in the northwestern suburbs of Beijing. The Summer Palace was called the Garden of Clear Ripples at that time, which was one of the Five Gardens. The Three Hills are the: Fragrant Hill, Jade Spring Hill and Longevity Hill. The Five Gardens are: Garden of Everlasting Spring, Garden of Perfection and Brightness, Garden of Tranquility and Brightness, Garden of Tranquility and Pleasure, Garden of Clear Ripples. In 1750, Emperor Qianlong rebuilt the Garden of Clear Ripples f or the purpose of his mother’s 60th birthday celebration. He changed the hill’s name from Jar Hill into Longevity Hill in order to celebrate his mother’s 60th birthday. He also renamed the lake as Kunming Lake because he wanted to follow the example of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty who had trained his navy centuries before Kunming Pool in Chang’an, the capital city at that time (somewhere near Xi An today).
北京旅游景点的中英文介绍 天安门广场 Tian’an Men Square 故宫 Former Imperial Palace 天坛 Temple of Heaven 地坛 The Temple of Earth 长城 the Great Wall 颐和园 the Summer Palace 十三陵 the Ming Tombs 雍和宫 Yonghegong Lamasery 卢沟桥 Lugou Bridge 碧云寺 Biyun Temple 潭柘寺 Tanzhe Temple 卧佛寺 Wofo Temple 戒台寺 Jietai Temple 法海寺 Fahai Temple 云居寺 Yunju Temple 白云寺 Baiyun Temple 白云观 the White Cloud Taoist Temple 恭王府 Prince Gong’s Mansion 清东陵 Eastern Royal Tombs of the Qing Dynasty 乾清宫 Palace of Heavenly Purity
北海公园 Beihai Park 香山公园 Xiangshan Park 世界公园 Beijing World Park 圆明园遗址 the Ruins of Yuanmingyuan 北京动物园 Beijing Zoo 中华世纪坛 China Century Altar 故宫博物院 the Palace Museum 人民大会堂 the Great Hall of the People 民族文化宫the Cultural Palace for Nationalities 劳动人民文化宫 Working People's Cultural Palace 北京工人体育馆 Beijing Worker's Stadium 革命历史博 物馆 the Museum of Revolutionary History
Qianmen Street, a famous commercial street in Beijing. Beijing axis is located in the north from the front door Moon Bay, south bridge junction, connected with the South Street bridge. Ming Jiajing Twenty-nine years (1550) built outside the city before the emperor out of the city to go to the Temple of Heaven, mountains, imperial altar, built outside the city outside the city after the main north-south streets.
Da shi lan, one of the Beijing's most famous old-fashioned street, has a history dating back 570 years. It was built in 1430, the 18th year of emperor yong le's rule during Ming Dynasty. These two are very close, and we can visit the two together. 3. Situated in western outskirts of Beijing, the Summer Palace is 10 kilometers from the central city. It is China's leading classical garden which enjoys a worldwide reputation. The Summer Palace was opened to the public in 1924 and included in the UNESCO world heritage list in 1998.
The Summer Palace Part one: Brief Information and the Palace & Living Area The Summer Palace is located on the northwest outskirts of Beijing, 20 kilometers away from the center of the city. It is the best preserved imperial garden in the world and one of the largest of its kind still exist in China. It can be divided into two parts, the Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. The Summer Palace covers an area of 290 hectares, and the Longevity Hill covers one quarter of it, while the other 3 quarters are for the Kunming Lake. The Summer Palace has a history of over 800 years. It goes back to the Liao and Jin dynasties and was first built in the 12th century for the emperor. And during the Ming dynasty, palaces and temples were built here for the emperor. Large-scale construction started in the Qing dynasty, when the Qing dynasty entered its flourishing period. During the Emperor Qianlong’s reign, the famous “Three Hills and Five Gardens”were built or enlarged, and one of the gardens was called the Garden of Clear Ripples, which was the previous name of the Summer Palace. In 1750, the Emperor Qianlong, in order to celebrate his mother’s 60th birthday, ordered to have the Garden of Clear Ripples rebuilt. The emperor renamed the hill as the Longevity Hill and the lake as the Kunming Lake. In 1860, the Anglo-French Allied Forces invaded Beijing and broke into the “Three Hill and Five Gardens”. They did nothing but robbing the reassures and setting fire on the buildings. And the “Three Hilt and Five Gardens: were burnt down to ashes. In 1888, during the emperor Guangxu’s reign, Empress Dowager Cixi spent a large sum of money to have the Garden of Clear Ripples rebuilt, and renamed it the “Summer Palace”. The money she spent to rebuild the garden was pinched form the navy fund, which was intended for the development of Chinese navy. The lack of a well-trained navy was the direct cause of Chinese defeat in the Sino-Japanese War in 1894. In 1900, the Allied Forces of Eight Powers invaded Beijing. And the Summer Palace was once again severely damaged. The invaders occupied the Summer Palace and when they left, they took everything valuable and destroyed most of the buildings. In 1902 Empress Dowager Cixi ordered to have the Summer Palace rebuilt again, and in 1903 the reconstruction was finished. After that, Empress Dowager Cixi came to live here in the Summer Palace from April to October every year. In 1928,the Summer Palace was turned into a public park. We’ll first enter the east palace gate. In front of the east palace gate, there is an archway, which has three entrances with four pillars and seven towers. The east palace gate is the main entrance and also the front gate of the Summer Palace. A plaque is hung above the center with three Chinese characters “The Summer Palace”in Emperor Guangxu’s handwriting. The stone slab placed in the middle gateway was moved from the Yuanmingyuan ruins, made in the Emperor Qianlong’s reign.