Today, I finally took a trip to the Summer Palace. It is one of Beijing’s top attractions, and it is conveniently located only five minutes by bus from Peking University.
When I arrived there were dozens of tour groups near the entrance, but once I walked past them the Summer Palace was vast enough that it didn’t feel crowded at all. The Summer Palace covers 726.5 acres, the majority of which is covered by water. It is possible to spend as little as an hour there, but since the area is so large it is also easy to spend an entire day exploring the many different gardens.
The first section I began walking was a steep path that climbed to the highest point in the area. This is the main portion of the Summer Palace, containing some of the most famous structures. The top of this section provides some of the best views of the area, since it is possible to look out over the lake and the various structures below.
The path down from the top. Between the trees in the background you can see a large pagoda.
One of the most interesting things about the Summer Palace is that it is located in the city of Beijing. It is an oasis in the middle of a city that is filled with steel and concrete. The price of admission is low; so I may visit a few times in order to breathe some cleaner air. It is also nice to see green grass, water, trees, flowers and other living plants and animals. When you live in one of the largest and most polluted cities in the world you begin to miss some of these very ordinary things.
The lake covers about three quarters of the area of Summer Palace, and since the weather was nice I decided to walk around the entire lake. There is a path built around most of the lake containing diverse kinds of trees, flowers, and structures that are hundreds of years old. From any point on the path it is possible to look across the lake and view the main section of the Summer Palace.
The Summer Palace is a must see for anyone who visits Beijing, regardless of the time of the year. Although the best time to visit is probably during the summer, hence the name, it is still beautiful during any time of the year, including the winter. There is not much more I can say about it, since I cannot express a lot of it with words. If you are planning to visit Beijing, make sure you visit the Summer Palace.
Beijing Shore 