The Summer Palace ,Beihai Park and The Chengde Mountain Resort
3 min readSummer Palace
Summer Palace situated in western outskirts of Beijing，the Summer Palace is the typical classical garden in China，and one of the most famous gardens in the world.It consists of the Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake with a total area of 290 hectares，among which three fourths is covered by the lake.
The whole garden is functionally divided into three sections，namely court reception area，residence area and sightseeing area.Combing the delicacy of private gardens in south China and the elegancy of imperial gardens，the Summer Place has a significant place in the history of landscape gardening.The Summer Palace was inscribed on the world Heritage List in 1998 by the UNESCO.
Beihai Park
Beihai Park is 500 meters to the west of the north gate of the Forbidden City.The original royal park was out of bounds to ordinary citizens.It covers an area of over 700 000 sq meters，and more than half is water.Sincethe Liao Dynasty，the Jin，Yuan，Ming and Qing Dynasties built royal parks here.The lake and marsh in the Liao Dynasty was built into xanadu，the highest palace serving as a dressing table for Empress Dowager Xiao.Later in the Jin Dynasty，Qionghua（Jade Flower）lsland，Yaoguang Hall and Guanghan Hall were constructed，and the Taihu stone of the Gen Mountain in the Song Dynasty was moved from Kaifeng，Henan.Xanadu was built into Daning Palace on the outskirts of the capital of the Jin Dynasty in 1179.
Emperor Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty then ordered the construction the new capital Dadu，Surrounding Qionghua（Jade Flower）Island（renamed Wanshou Mountain）and Taiye Pool.Taiye Pool was cut into two parts，and the lake dug during the Ming Dynasty and Beihai，Zhonghai and Nan-hai came into being.Many halls，chambers and pavilions were build successively along its banks during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.A Tibetan style white pagoda was built on the original site of Guanghan Hall，and Wanshou Mountain renamed White Pagoda Mountain in 1651，the 8th year of Shunzhi reign.The original Taiye Pool and Qionghua（Jade Flower）Island were constructed into the largest and most beautiful royal park.When the eight-Power Allied force invaded Beijing in 1900，Beihai Park was the base for the headquarters of Japan，France and Russia，and almost reduced to ashes.Two years later，empress dowager Cixi renovated the park as a residence for herself.It remained closed to the public until 1925，marking an end of its history as imperial park.
Chengde Mountain Resort
Chengde Mountain Resort was the summer residence of the Qing Dynasty（1644-1911）imperial family.Extending over 5.64 million square meters in the urban area of Chengde，it is the largest imperial park extant in China.The construction of the resort began in 1703，or the 42nd year of the Qing Emperor Kangxi’s reign，and last for 90 years.Scattered across the Mountain Resort are some 130 groups of structures built in differentstyles and totaling about 100 000 square meters in floor space.The Mountain Resort combines the delicacy of private gardens in south China and the elegancy of imperial gardens in north China.It was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1994.
