China Fun Guide: Versailles of the East

The Old Summer Palace is known as the Ruins of the Yuanmingyuan. It is located in the northern of Haidian District in Beijing. The garden was built in 1709 during the reign of emperor Kangxi of the Qing dynasty. The Old Summer Palace is famous for its gardens, buildings and arts works.

The Old Summer Palace is composed of halls, pavilions, rock hills, rivers, ponds, and exotic flowers and grasses from China different cities. It shows the essence of a Chinese ancient garden. It was also called the 'garden of gardens' or the 'Versailles of the East'.

The Old Summer Palace was made up of three gardens - Garden of Perfect Brightness proper, Garden of Eternal Spring and Elegant Spring Garden. There are many famous scenic spots such as the Dashuifa Waterworks and the Throne of the Guanshuifa.

However, the Anglo-French Allied Forces looted a large number of arts works in 1860, at the same time they also destroyed majority of the building. If you want to see the original buildings of the Old Summer Palace's heyday, please don't miss Panoramic Model Exhibition of Old Summer Palace in Heyday.

Opening Hours:

07:00-19:00 (May-August)

07:00-18:30 (April, September and October)

07:00-17:30 (January, February, March, November and December)

Address:
28 Qinghuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing

How to get there:

By Subway:

Take Subway Line 4 get off at Yuanmingyuan Station and get out of the station from Exit B (northeast exit).

By Bus:

1. Take bus 365, 432, 562, 664, 681, 982, and get off at Yuanmingyuan Dong Lu Station. (East Gate)

2. Take bus 319, 320, 331, 438, 498, 601, 626, 628, 690, 696, 697, and get off at Yuanmingyuan Nanmen. (South Gate)

Image Attribution: All images from Baidu lvyou

Works Cited:

Old Summer Palace (Ruins of Yuanmingyuan),<http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/beijing/yuanmingyuan.htm>

YUANMING YUAN, THE GARDEN OF PERFECT BRIGHTNESS,No. 8, December 2006,<http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/editorial.php?issue=008>