The Summer Palace in Brief
颐和园简介
The Summer Palace, dominated mainly by Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, covers an areaof 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is under water. Its 70,000 squ are meters ofbuilding space features a variety of palaces, gardens and other ancient-st yle architecturalstructures. Well known for its large and priceless collection of cultura l relics, it was among thefirst group of historical and cultural heritage sites in China to be placed under special state protection.
颐和园主景区由万寿山、昆明湖组成，全园占地2.9平方公里，水面约占四分之三。园内现存各式宫殿、园林古建7万平方米，并以珍贵的文物藏品闻名于世，是第一批全国重点文物保护单位。
The Summer Palace, originally named Qingyi Yuan or the Garden of Clear Ripples, w as firstconstructed in 1750. It was razed to the ground by the Anglo-French Allied For ces in 1860. The Government of the Qing Dynasty started to rebuild it in 1886 with fu nds that it hadmisappropriated from the Imperial Navy and other sources. Renamed t wo years later as YiheYuan or the Garden of Health and Harmony, it was supposed to serve as a summer resort forthe Empress Dowager Cixi. Known also as the Summer Palace, it was ravaged by the AlliedForces of the Eight Powers that invaded China in 1900. The damage was repaired in 1902. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Summer Palace has undergone severalmajor renovations. Its major attra ctions such as the Four Great Regions, Suzhou Street, thePavilion of Bright Scenery, t he Hall of Serenity, the Wenchang Galleries and the Plowing andWeaving Scenery Ar ea have been successively restored.
颐和园前身为清漪园，始建于清朝乾隆十五年(1750)，咸丰十年(1860)被英法联军烧毁。光绪十二年(1886)，清廷挪用海军经费等款项开始重建，并于两年后取用今名，作为慈禧太后的颐养之所。一九零零年又遭八国联军破坏，一九零二年修复。中华人民共和国成立后，几经修缮，颐和园陆续复建了四大部洲、苏州街、景明楼、澹宁堂、文昌院、耕织图等重要景区。
The Summer Palace is a monument to classical Chinese architecture, in terms of both garden design and construction. Borrowing scenes from surrounding landscapes, it rad iatesnot only the grandeur of an imperial garden but also the beauty of nature in a sea mlesscombination that best illustrates the guiding principle of traditional Chinese gard en design:
“The works of men should match the works of Heaven”.In December 1998, UNESC O includedthe Summer Palace on its World Heritage List with the following comment s:
1) The SummerPalace in Beijing is an outstanding expression of the creative art of Ch inese landscapegarden design, incorporating the works of humankind and nature in a harmonious whole;
2) The Summer Palace epitomizes the philosophy and practice of Chinese garden desi gn, whichplayed a key role in the development of this cultural form throughout the ea st;
3) The imperialChinese garden, illustrated by the Summer Palace, is a potent symbol
of one of the majorworld civilizations.
颐和园集传统造园艺术之大成，借景周围的山水环境，既有皇家园林恢弘富丽的气势，又充满了自然之趣，高度体现了中国园林“虽由人作，宛自天开”的造园准则。一九九八年十二月，颐和园被联合国教科文组织列入《世界遗产名录》，并予以如下评价：1)北京的颐和园是对中国风景园林造园艺术的一种杰出的展现，将人造景观与大自然和谐地融为一体;2)颐和园是中国的造园思想和实践的集中体现，而这种思想和实践对整个东方园林艺术文化形式的发展起了关键性的作用;3)以颐和园为代表的中国皇家园林是世界几大文明之一的有力象征。
颐和园导游词英语文档4篇English documents of tour guide words in Summer Pala ce 编订：JinTai College
颐和园导游词英语文档4篇 前言：导游词是导游人员引导游客观光游览时的讲解词，是导游员同 游客交流思想，向游客传播文化知识的工具，也是应用写作研究的文 体之一。本文档根据导游词内容要求和针对旅游地点是北京的特点展 开说明，具有实践指导意义，便于学习和使用，本文下载后内容可随 意调整修改及打印。 本文简要目录如下：【下载该文档后使用Word打开，按住键盘 Ctrl键且鼠标单击目录内容即可跳转到对应篇章】 1、篇章1：颐和园导游词英语范文 2、篇章2：颐和园导游词英语范文 3、篇章3：颐和园导游词英语范文 4、篇章4：颐和园导游词怎么写文档 颐和园是现存清代皇家园林中布局最为完整,造景最为丰 富的皇家园林建筑群。下面是为大家带来的颐和园导游词英语，希望可以帮助大家。 篇章1:颐和园导游词英语范文 Dear visitors, guys! I am your tour guide, my name is Bai Zuhang, today I'll give you interpret the
scenic spot of the Summer Palace, I hope you can leave a good memory here. Let's walk into the door to the Summer Palace, around the hall, there are beautiful scenery waiting for us to see. This is the Summer Palace, the famous promenade, look! The pillars of the green paint, red paint of the rail, the eye is not the end, the gallery has more than seven hundred meters, is divided into two hundred and seventy-three, look over there, each of the cross bar on the colorful paintings, thousands of picture not the two picture is the same, it is the artist's work, on both sides of the aisle are beautiful flowers, fragrance waft. Let us out of the corridor, to the foot of longevity hill. Please look up and have a star anise pyramid building stands on the hillside, yellow glass tile shine, that is, buddhist incense climb, buddhist incense can see most of the landscape, the Summer Palace and the rows of incense you face resplendent and magnificent palace is cloud temple. The next station is kunming lake, it is
北京颐和园考察报告 颐和园全景图： 忠告古代皇家圆林的典范--颐和园 传统做预案艺术之大成，荟萃南北私家园林之精华， 是中国现存最完整、规模最大的皇家圆林。万寿山 、昆明湖构成其基本框架，占地2、97平方公里，水 面约占四分之三，院内建筑以佛香阁为中心，共有亭、 台、楼、阁、廊、榭等不同形式的建筑3000多间。 其中佛香阁、长廊、石舫、苏州街、十七孔桥、大戏 台等都是已成为家喻户晓的代表性建筑，处处蕴含着 造园造景之精华。 昆 明 湖 颐和园的昆明湖，是北京近郊最吸引人的水域。颐和园中昆明湖的谁面占公园的四分之三，昆明湖根据水域的分割状况，可分为三个部分，及大湖、西湖和后湖。其中西湖又可分为南北两个区域，昆明湖扰流万寿山后山脚下的溪河，称为后湖。后湖也可分为后湖和谐趣园湖两部分，但主要水面集中在大湖。西望玉峰宝塔，立于青山之上，北看佛香高阁，处于翠柏之间。 十七孔桥 十七孔桥西连南湖岛，东接廓如亭飞跨于东堤和南湖岛之间，不但是前往南湖岛的唯一通道，而且是湖区的一个重要景点。桥身长一百五十米，宽八米。由士气个卷洞组成，是颐和园内最大的一座桥梁。。远远望去像一道长虹飞跨在碧波之上。石桥两侧的栏杆上，雕刻有大小不同、形态各异的石狮544之。比起北京石狮子最多的卢沟桥，还多上59只。 长廊 在颐和园循万寿山南沿昆明湖 北岸构筑。长廊东起邀月门， 西至石丈亭，中间穿过排云门， 两侧对称点缀着留佳、寄濂、 秋水、清遥四座重瞻八角攒尖 亭。象征春夏秋冬四季。全长 728米，共273间。长廊以其 精美的建筑、曲折多变和极丰 富的彩图而负盛名，是我国古 建筑和园林中最长的廊 万寿山前景区 景区由两条垂直对衬的轴线统领，东西轴线是长 廊，南北轴线从长廊中部起，依次为排云门、德辉 殿、佛香阁、直至山顶的智慧海。万寿山原名金山、 瓮山，海拔109米，南依昆明湖，以佛香阁为中心， 形成了一组气势雄伟、巍峨壮观的建筑群。东侧有 “转轮藏”和“万寿山和昆明湖”的石碑，西侧有五方 阁和宝云阁。登临山顶，可俯昆明湖景色。 佛香阁
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,
有关颐和园的导游词 颐和园位于北京西北郊，主要由万寿山和昆明湖组成。早在元明时期，这里就以其优美自然的田园景色成为“壮观神州第一”的著名游览胜地。下面让我们一起看看颐和园的导游词，去领略一番颐和园的美景。 第1篇：颐和园导游词 尊敬的各位游客，我们将要游览的是颐和园。颐和园是清代皇家园林和行宫，是我国重点保护单位，已经列入《世界遗产名录》。游览时请大家自觉保持它的清洁。 我们现在即将前往的就是颐和园，利用这一段时间，我向大家简短的介绍一下颐和园的历史。 最早在辽金时代的时候，皇帝就已经开始在北京修建皇家园林了。当时在今天的万寿山昆明湖一带修建了金山行宫，将这里称为金山、金山泊。到了元朝，有将这改名为翁山、翁山泊。而明代初期则改称西湖并修建了园静寺，命名为好山园。到了万历是十六年，也就是1588年，这里已经具有一定的园林规模，享有“十里青山行画里，双飞白鸟似江南”的称誉。然而让这里真正成为一处皇家园林的是清代。在康熙年间就曾在此修建行宫，1749——1764年，就在原来的基础上修建了清漪园，扩湖，推山，将湖称为昆明湖，山叫做
万寿山。过了一些年，慈禧太后挪用了海军经费对这里进行了重建，而且光绪皇帝下昭将这里改名为颐和园。 我们首先来到的是颐和园最有名的长廊。看，绿漆的柱子，红漆的栏杆，多美啊!这长廊有七百多米，共有273间。每一间的横榄上都有五彩的画。你们相信吗几千幅画没有哪两幅是相同的。 走完长廊，就来到了万寿山的脚下，抬头一看，一座八角宝塔形的三层建筑耸立在半山腰上，黄色的琉璃瓦闪闪发光。那就是佛香阁。下面的一排排金碧辉煌的宫殿，就是排云殿。 现在我们已登上万寿山山顶，这里是欣赏颐和园全景的最佳位置。正前面就是昆明湖，有人常说他像镜子，像碧玉，下面我们就去昆明湖边仔细游赏。 看，昆明湖多大，它周围的堤岸更长。看见湖中心的那个小岛了吗走过这个常石桥就可以去小岛上玩。请仔细看这座石桥，它就叫十七孔桥，桥栏杆上有上百根石柱，柱子上都雕刻着小狮子，这些狮子姿态各异，没有哪两只是相同的。 颐和园到处都有美丽的景色，我说也说不尽，剩下时间大家就细细游赏吧! 第2篇：颐和园导游词
颐和园简介 颐和园主景区由万寿山、昆明湖组成，全园占地3.08平方公里，水面约占四分之三。园内现存各式宫殿、园林古建7万平方米，并以珍贵的文物藏品闻名于世，是第一批全国重点文物保护单位。 颐和园前身为清漪园，始建于清朝乾隆十五年（1750），咸丰十年（1860）被英法联军烧毁。光绪十二年（1886），清廷挪用海军经费等款项开始重建，并于两年后取用今名，作为慈禧太后的颐养之所。一九〇〇年又遭八国联军破坏，一九〇二年修复。中华人民共和国成立后，几经修缮，颐和园陆续复建了四大部洲、苏州街、景明楼、澹（dàn）宁堂、文昌院、耕织图等重要景区。 颐和园集传统造园艺术之大成，借景周围的山水环境，既有皇家园林恢弘富丽的气势，又充满了自然之趣，高度体现了中国园林“虽由人作，宛自天开”的造园准则。一九九八年十二月，颐和园被联合国教科文组织列入《世界遗产名录》，并予以如下评价：1）北京的颐和园是对中国风景园林造园艺术的一种杰出的展现，将人造景观与大自然和谐地融为一体；2）颐和园是中国的造园思想和实践的集中体现，而这种思想和实践对整个东方园林艺术文化形式的发展起了关键性的作用；3）以颐和园为代表的中国皇家园林是世界几大文明之一的有力象征。
园史介绍 颐和园的前身清漪园始建于清乾隆十五年（1750年）。这是 一座以万寿山、昆明湖为主体的大型天然山水园。 万寿山和昆明湖早在建园之前就已经是北京西北郊风景名胜区的一个组成部分，它的自然景观以及某些人文景观都与此后的园
林造景有着直接的渊源关系。考查颐和园的历史也就不应局限于园林本身，而必须追溯其早年风景建设的情况。 一、建园以前 北京的西北郊，素称“神京右臂”的西山峰峦连绵自南趋北，余脉在香山的部位兜转而东，好像屏障一样远远拱列于这个平原的西、北面。在它的腹心地带，两座小山岗双双平地突起，这就是玉泉山和万寿山。附近泉水丰沛，湖泊罗布，远山近水彼此烘托映衬，形成有如江南的优美自然景观，实为华北地区所不多见。 早在辽金时期，香山、玉泉山就有了皇家行宫别苑的建置。 元代，万寿山叫做瓮山，以其山形似瓮而得名。山的南面地势低洼的地带汇聚玉泉山诸泉眼的泉水，潴而成为一个大湖名“瓮山泊”，也叫七里泊或大泊湖，这就是昆明湖的前身。 北京城西南面的永定河，由于泥沙淤塞，河床极不稳定，河水经常处于暴涨暴落，难于控制的状态。 公元1264年，元世祖忽必烈营建新的都城“大都”时，将玉泉山的泉水导引入城作为宫廷的专用水，百姓不能截取，甚至“濯（zhuó）手有禁”。至元二十九年（１２９２年），为了补给大运河北端的水量，保证漕运畅通，在昌平的白浮村筑堰拦蓄神山诸泉之水，先西行然后转南，流经青龙桥再绕过瓮山而汇聚于瓮山泊，于瓮山泊往南开凿河道，沿河加筑大堤以障水南行，从和义门（今西直门）北之水门入城，在河道的南段先后修建了百座闸门——高亮桥闸和广源闸以控制水的流量，然后穿城而过，经通惠河注入通
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
颐和园的导游词 颐和园集传统造园艺术之大成，万寿山、昆明湖构成其基本框架，借景周围的山水环境，饱含中国皇家园林的恢弘富丽气势，又充满自然之趣，高度体现了“虽由人作，宛自天开”的造园准则。第一文档网今天为大家精心准备了颐和园的导游词，希望对大家有所帮助!颐和园的导游词各位游客大家好，欢迎你们到北京颐和园来游玩，我是颐和园旅游公司的导游，大家能够称我为“小廖”，十分荣幸能为大家带给服务，期望在我的陪伴下，能让您度过愉快的一天，也能让您真正感受到颐和园这座皇家园林的魅力。 颐和园位于北京西郊，原为封建帝王的行宫花园。原先的名字叫好山园。清乾隆时改为清漪园。1860年被英法联军所毁。1888年慈禧太后挪用军费重建，改名颐和园。颐和园总面积290万平方米，拥有宫殿园林建筑3000余间，湖水面积约占四分之三。园中景象万千。万寿山丛林葱郁，昆明湖碧水荡漾，构成一幅美丽的皇家园林画卷，是世界著名的旅游胜地。 我先带大家去长廊游玩。进了颐和园的大门，绕过大殿，就来到有名的长廊。长廊长728米，分成273间。每一间的横槛上都有五彩的画，画着人物、动物、花草、风景，几千幅画没有哪两幅是相同的。长廊两旁栽满了花木，这一种花还没谢，那一种花又开了。其中人物故事画最引人注目。那
就请游客们细细观赏吧! 穿过长廊，就来到万寿山脚下，万寿山地处颐和园的中心部位。南临昆明湖。山上建有佛香阁、排云殿等，山上树木葱浓，宫殿金碧辉煌，是宫庭功能、宗教功能、园林功能的集中体现。那里建筑宏伟，风景秀丽，充分展示了皇宫御苑的皇家气派。各位游客不妨亲自登山，既锻炼了身体，又能沿途欣赏好风景。 接下来我向大家介绍昆明湖。昆明湖面积约200多万平方米。湖边围着长长的堤岸，湖沿有石舫，湖上有好几座式样不一样的石桥，其中十七孔桥最引人注目，桥上有上百根石柱，石柱上都刻着各种各样、天然成趣的数百只狮子，它们率真大胆，美不胜收，有的正在绣球上灵巧地做着各种优美的动作，有的几只狮宝宝嬉戏在狮妈妈周围，欢蹦乱跳，尽情玩耍，狮妈妈慈爱地抚摸着小宝宝，眼里流露出欢欣的喜悦，金色的阳光洒在这些狮子们身上，像给予它们一种生命力，传续着人间动人的故事。 走在桥上，能够看到湖岸柳树成行，湖光山色，风景迷人，是颐和园最有名的景点。走过十七孔桥，就能够观赏湖中小岛上的绚丽风景，那里别有一番情趣的美景真是说也说不尽，道也道不完，用“举世无双，独一无二”来形容她一点也但是分，她就像一颗璀璨的明珠，她的大气，她的精致，她浓郁的人文底蕴深深地吸引着中外游客。
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 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.