HOME > Summer Palace

Summer Palace

Summer Palace has a history of over 800 years. In 1153, when the Jin Dynasty made Beijing (then called Yanjing) its capital, it built an imperial palace. In 1750, Qing Emperor Qianlong spent 4.8 million taels of silver (140,000 kilograms of silver or 140 tons of silver) building the Garden of Clear Ripples in 15 years and changed the name of the hill to Longevity Hill to celebrate his mother s birthday. summer palace In 1860, the Anglo-French allied forces invaded Beijing and burned down the palace. In 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi had it restored with the funds of 937 tons of silver intended for the development of the navy and renamed it the Summer Palace. In 1900, it was again plundered by the invading troops of the eight powers. In 1930, Empress Dowager spent a fabulous sum of money to have the palace reconstructed a second time. In 1924, it was turned into a park. The Summer Palace consists of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake with a total area of 625 acres. It has become one of the most popular parks in Beijing.