The Summer Palace is located in Haidian District, the northwest suburb of Beijing, which is 15km away from Beijing downtown. It is a large-scale natural landscape garden based on Kunming Lake and Wanshou Mountain, based on the scenery of West Lake in Hangzhou, and drawing lessons from some design techniques and artistic conception of Jiangnan gardens. It is also the best-preserved palace and imperial home forest, covering an area of about 290 hectares. The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved royal garden in China. It is one of the four famous gardens in China and a national key cultural relic protection unit. June 1998+065438+ 10 was named as the world natural and cultural heritage.
The Summer Palace is a large-scale scenic spot, covering an area of 293 hectares. It is mainly composed of Wanshou Mountain and Kunming Lake, of which the water surface accounts for three quarters (about 220 hectares). The buildings in the park are centered on the Buddha Pavilion, with more than 3,000 pavilions, terraces, buildings, pavilions, corridors and pavilions in different forms. The whole park is roughly divided into three areas: the political activity area centered on Renshoutang, the living and residential area dominated by Leshoutang, Yulantang and Yiyuntang, and the scenic and sightseeing area composed of Wanshou Mountain and Kunming Lake. It can also be divided into three parts: Wanshou Qianshan, Kunming Lake and Houshan Houhu. Qian Shan, with Foxiang Pavilion as the center, has formed a huge main building complex, which is magnificent. The rippling Kunming Lake is laid flat at the southern foot of Wanshou Mountain, accounting for about 3/4 of the whole park area. There is a South Lake Island in the lake, which is connected with the shore by a beautiful 17 span bridge. There is a west embankment on the west side of the lake, on which six beautiful bridges are built. After the mountains and lakes, the clear water flows back, and Gu Song is majestic and the environment is quiet.
The artificial landscapes such as pavilions, corridors, halls, temples and bridges in the Summer Palace are harmoniously and artistically integrated with natural landscapes and open lakes. The whole garden art is ingeniously conceived, which is a masterpiece of China's garden architecture art and plays an important role in the history of garden art at home and abroad.
The development of history
The predecessor of the Summer Palace is Qingyi Garden, one of the three mountains and five gardens in Beijing. It was built in the 15th year of Qingganlong (A.D. 1750) and completed in 15. It is the last of the famous "Three Mountains and Five Gardens" in Beijing in the Qing Dynasty (Xiangshan Jingyi Garden, Yuquan Mountain Jingming Garden, Wanshou Mountain Qingyi Garden, Yuanmingyuan Garden and Changchun Garden). In the tenth year of Xianfeng (AD 1860), the Yuanmingyuan was seriously damaged when the British and French allied forces burned it.
In the 12th year of Guangxu (AD 1886), reconstruction began. In the 14th year of Guangxu (A.D. 1888), Cixi used naval military expenses to repair this garden and changed it to the Summer Palace, which means "supporting Tai He". In the 21st year of Guangxu (A.D. 1895), the project ended. In the 26th year of Guangxu (A.D. 1900), the Summer Palace was once again looted by Eight-Nation Alliance. The following year, after Cixi returned to Beijing from xi 'an, she rebuilt the garden with a huge sum of money.
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The purpose of Cixi's vigorous restoration of this garden is to escape the heat and support her life. She took a fancy to this treasure called Wanshou. Since 1903, Cixi spent most of her time here. Because Cixi often needs to meet courtiers and handle court affairs, a palace area and a living area are specially built in the front of the garden, so the Summer Palace is a large-scale royal garden with dual functions of "palace" and "garden". The whole park can be roughly divided into palace area and garden forest area.
Because the Summer Palace has the dual functions of palace and garden. Therefore, a palace area was built at the main entrance of the garden as a place to meet courtiers and handle state affairs. The palace area consists of halls, courts, duty rooms and other buildings that enter the courtyard. It occupies a small area and is relatively independent of the vast garden forest area behind it. The two are separated and connected. Among them, with Renshou Hall as the center, there are three large quadrangles behind Renshou Hall: Leshou Hall, Yulantang and Yiyuntang, where Cixi, Guangxu and Empress Dowager lived. Deheyuan Theater on the east side of Yiyun Pavilion is one of the three major theaters in Qing Dynasty.
Renshou Hall is at the East Palace Gate of the Summer Palace. It is the main hall where Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu sat in the hall to listen to politics and meet foreign guests. Formerly known as Qin Zhengtang, it was rebuilt in Guangxu and renamed Renshoutang. It is seven rooms wide in the east, south and north halls on both sides, with Renshou Gate in front and nine clean rooms in the north and south outside. Bronze dragons, phoenixes and ding are all beautifully carved. Le Shoutang faces Kunming Lake, with Deheyuan Theater in the east and a promenade in the west, where Cixi lives. The gold horizontal plaque on the black background of Leshou Hall is Guangxu calligraphy, and there is a dock for Cixi to take a boat in front of the hall. Magnolia, Xifu Begonia, Peony and other precious flowers and trees are planted in the hospital, which means "Jade Hall is rich". Yulantang is by the lake in Kunming. It is the bedroom of Emperor Guangxu. It is a group of halls that extend in all directions. Magnolia Hall in the main hall has two subsidiary halls, Xia Fen Hall in the east and Champs Elysé es in the west. The brick wall on the back eaves and two affiliated halls are isolated from the outside world and are important historical sites of the Summer Palace.
The garden area is dominated by Wanshou Mountain and Kunming Lake. Wanshou Mountain is about 1000 meters long from east to west and 60 meters high. The water surface of Kunming Lake accounts for about 78% of the total area of the park. The northwest end of the lake bypasses the west foot of Wanshou Mountain and connects with the "Houhu" at the north foot, forming a situation where mountains are surrounded by water, closely connecting the lake with the mountains. Seen from the wisdom sea at the top of Wanshou Mountain, the Summer Palace consists of Buddha Pavilion, Dehui Hall, Paiyun Hall, Paiyun Gate and Yunhui Yuyufang, forming a distinct central axis. At the foot of the mountain is a "corridor" more than 700 meters long. There are more than 8,000 colorful paintings on the corridor, which is called "the first corridor in the world". In front of the promenade is the rippling Kunming Lake. The west dike of Kunming Lake is modeled after the Su Causeway of the West Lake. The back of Wanshou Mountain and the back of Houhu Lake are towering, with elegant environment, Tibetan temples and Suzhou Creek Ancient Business Street. At the eastern end of Houhu Lake, there is a humorous garden built in imitation of Wuxi Jichang Garden, which is small and exquisite and is called "the garden in the garden".
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Wanshou Mountain, which belongs to the residual vein of Yanshan Mountain, is 58.59 meters high. The building complex is built on the mountain. In front of Wanshou Mountain, a huge main building complex is formed with the Buddha Pavilion with eight sides, three floors and four eaves as the center. From the "Yunhui Yuyu" archway at the foot of the mountain, through Paiyunmen, Ergongmen, Paiyuntang, Dehuitang and Foxiang Pavilion, to the wisdom sea at the top of the mountain, a rising central axis is formed. On the east side, there are stone tablets of "Runwheel Hidden" and "Wanshou Mountain Kunming Lake". On the west side, there are Wu Fangting and Baoyun Pavilion made of copper. Among the green trees in the back hill, there are magnificent Tibetan Buddhist buildings and colorful glass pagodas. There are other pavilions on the mountain, such as Jingfu Pavilion, Chongcui Pavilion, Xieqiuxuan Pavilion and Scroll World Pavilion, overlooking Kunming Lake.
Kunming Lake is the largest lake in the royal gardens of Qing Dynasty. There is a long dike in the lake-Xidi, which runs from northwest to south. The west levee and its branches divide the lake into three waters of different sizes, and there is an island in the middle of the lake in each water area. These three islands stand on the lake, symbolizing the three sacred mountains in the East China Sea-Penglai, Abbot and Yingzhou in ancient China legends. Due to the separation of islands and dikes, the lake is layered, avoiding monotony. The west dike and the six bridges on the dike consciously imitate the "Su Causeway Six Bridges" of Su Causeway and Hangzhou West Lake, making Kunming Lake more and more like the West Lake. The natural scenery around Xidi is broad, with blue waves and weeping willows. The beautiful mountain shape of Yuquan Mountain and the shadow of Yufeng Tower at the top of the park are part of the landscape. Looking from Kunming Lake and lakeside to the west, the scenery outside the park is integrated with the lakes and mountains in the park, which is an outstanding example of the application of borrowing scenery in China gardens. The buildings in the lake area are mainly concentrated on three islands. The green trees on the lakeshore and lake embankment are dense, hiding water and light, showing a natural beauty near the lake and distant mountains, with the flavor of Jiangnan.
The south slope of Wanshou Mountain (namely Qian Shan) is adjacent to Kunming Lake and connected with mountains, forming a very pleasant natural environment. The lakes, mountains, islands, dikes and their buildings here are in harmony with the scenery outside the park, forming a continuous and embroidered landscape picture. Qian Shan is very close to the main entrance of the park and the living area of the emperor and empress. It is very convenient to visit and return. The south overlooks the Kunming Lake area, so the main buildings of the park are gathered here. Accordingly, gardeners have adopted a focused approach in the architectural layout of Qian Shan. There is a group of central buildings with large volume and rich image in the middle. From the shore of the lake to the top of the mountain, magnificent halls and platforms cover the hillside, forming a longitudinal central axis running through the front mountain. This group of large-scale buildings includes the main buildings in the park-the "Paiyun Hall" where the emperor and empress held celebrations and the Buddhist temple "Foxiang Pavilion". In terms of volume, the latter is the largest building in the garden. The pavilion is about 40 meters high and stands on the stone platform. Its octagonal, four-eaved and pyramid-shaped roof image can be seen in many places inside and outside the park, and its appearance is magnificent, surpassing the group and becoming the overall composition center of Qian Shan and Kunming Lake. Corresponding to the longitudinal axis of the central building complex is the "promenade" across the foothills and along the north bank of the lake, with a total length of 728 meters, which is the longest veranda in China gardens. The rest of the buildings in Qian Shan are small in area, naturally arranged sparsely on foothills, hillsides and ridges, embedded in lush pines and cypresses, setting off a dignified and elegant central building complex.
The river in Houhu meanders on the north slope of Wanshou Mountain, which is at the foot of Houshan Mountain. The gardener skillfully used the cramped environment of the north bank of Hebei and the palace wall to build a rockery barrier on the north bank, which matched with the real mountains on the south bank to create a landscape of two mountains and one water. The water surface of the river is wide and narrow, and it is released at harvest time. After boating, the lake gives people the interest of returning to the mountains and water, and becomes an excellent still water scene in the park.
The landscape of the back mountain is very different from that of the front mountain. It is a natural environment full of wild interest, with lush trees, winding mountain roads and quiet scenery. Except for the Buddhist temple "Sumeru Spiritual World" in the middle, most of the buildings are concentrated in several self-contained places, forming exquisite small gardens with the surrounding environment. They can be flexibly arranged according to the terrain, either at the top of the mountain, on the hillside or near the water surface. On both sides of the central part of Houhu Lake are the ruins of "Buying Street" built in imitation of the Jiangnan River Market during the Qianlong period. The buildings in Houshan are incomplete except for the humorous garden and Jiqingxuan, which were completely rebuilt during Guangxu period. The scale of that year can only be vaguely identified from the broken walls. Humor Garden, formerly known as Huishan Garden, is a garden in the garden modeled after Wuxi Jichang Garden. The whole park takes the water surface as the center and the waterscape as the main body. Elegant halls, halls, buildings, pavilions, pavilions and other buildings are arranged around the pool, which are connected by curved corridors and planted with weeping willows and bamboos. The rocks on the north bank of the pool are rockeries. Flowing water is extracted from Houhu Lake and injected into the pool along the rocks through Xia Yuqin. The tinkling of running water and the sound of entering the scene add poetry and painting to this small garden.
Main attraction
1, Donggongmen District: the easternmost part of the Summer Palace. This area used to be the place where the Qing emperors engaged in political activities and daily life, including Renshou Hall, houses, bedrooms, big stage and courtyards in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The East Palace Gate is now the main entrance of the Summer Palace. It runs from west to east, and all the colorful patterns are painted under the eaves of the lintel. Six vermilion doors are embedded with neat yellow doornails, and a Kowloon plaque with the word "Summer Palace" is hung under the eaves in the middle, which is inscribed by Emperor Guangxu himself. Yunlong stone carving on the Imperial Road in front of the gate, carved with two pearl dragons, was carved during the Qianlong period and moved from the site of Yuanmingyuan (Anyou Palace). It is a symbol of the emperor's dignity. The East Palace Gate is dedicated to the Empress of Qing Dynasty.
2. The scenic spot in front of Wanshou Mountain: the scenic spot is dominated by two vertically contrasting axes, with the east-west axis as the promenade, and the north-south axis starting from the middle of the promenade, followed by Paiyunmen, Ergongmen, Paiyundian, Dehui Hall, Foguang Pavilion and the Peak Wisdom Sea. Wanshou Mountain, formerly known as Jinshan Mountain and Wengshan Mountain, is at an altitude of 109 meters, facing Kunming Lake in the south, with Foxiang Pavilion as the center, forming a group of magnificent buildings. On the east side, there are stone tablets of "Runwheel Hidden" and "Wanshou Mountain Kunming Lake", and on the west side, there are Wufang Pavilion and Baoyun Pavilion. Climb to the top of the mountain and overlook the scenery of Kunming Lake.
3. Houshan Houhu Scenic Area: Located in the northernmost part of the Summer Palace, it has few buildings, lush trees, winding mountain roads, quiet and elegant, in sharp contrast with the magnificence of the former mountain. A group of Tibetan-style buildings and Suzhou Street with the characteristics of Jiangnan water town have compact layout and their own interests.
4. Kunming Lake: It is the main water surface of the Summer Palace, accounting for three-quarters of the total area of the park, about 220 hectares. Qianhu District in the south is rippling with blue waves and vast smoke waves, with ups and downs in the west and pavilions in the north. There is a western dike in the lake, and there are peaches and willows on it. This 17 span bridge spans the lake, and three islands in the lake also have different forms of classical architecture.
5. Foxiang Pavilion: Located on the mountainside in the center of Qian Shan, Wanshou Mountain, it is built on a square abutment with a height of 2 1 m. It is a building with eight sides, three floors and four eaves; The pavilion is 4 1 m high, and there are eight huge iron rosewood Optimus Prime in the pavilion, which is a classic building with complex structure. After the original pavilion was burned by the British and French allied forces in 1860, it was rebuilt in 189 1 year (the 17th year of Guangxu reign in Qing dynasty) and completed in 1894, which is the largest project in the Summer Palace. The pavilion is specially used to "receive Buddha" for the royal family to burn incense here.
6. Promenade: The promenade is located at the southern foot of Wanshou Mountain, facing Kunming Lake, facing Wanshou Mountain in the north, starting from Yuemenmen in the east and reaching Zhangshiting in the west, with a total length of 728 meters and 273 rooms. It is the longest promenade in China gardens. 1992 was recognized as the longest promenade in the world and listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. Every beam in the gallery is painted, with more than14,000, including landscapes, flowers, birds, fish and insects, and allusions to people. The figure paintings in the paintings are all based on China's classic works.
7. Paiyun Hall: The center of the building in front of Wanshou Mountain used to be Yanshou Hall, and Qianlong was built for his mother's 60th birthday. When Cixi was rebuilt, it was changed to Paiyun Hall, where Cixi lived in the garden and received worship on her birthday. The word "Pai Yun" is taken from Guo Pu's poem "Fairy Pai Yun Shan, But See the Gold and Silver Terrace", which means that the fairy is about to appear in the ethereal Qiongge of Xianshan. Seen from a distance, Paiyundian, Paiyunmen, Jinshui Bridge and Ergongmen are in a straight line. Pai Yun Dian is the most spectacular building complex in the Summer Palace.
8. Le Shoutang is the main building in the residential area of the Summer Palace. It was built in the 15th year of Qianlong (AD 1750), destroyed in the 10th year of Xianfeng (AD 1860) and built in the 13th year of Guangxu (AD 1887). Leshou Hall faces Kunming Lake, backed by Wanshou Mountain, facing Renshou Hall in the east and the promenade in the west. This is the best place to live and play in the park.
There are thrones, royal pavilions, palm fans and glass screens in the hall of Leshou Hall. Next to the seat are two large disks filled with green dragon flowers, which are used to smell the fragrance of fruits, and four large copper stoves with nine peaches on them, which are used to burn sandalwood. The west suite is the bedroom and the east suite is the dressing room. Indoor rosewood wardrobe is a relic of Qianlong period.
Bronze deer, cranes and vases are displayed in the courtyard of Leshou Hall, which means "Liuhe is peaceful". The flowers in the hospital include magnolia, begonia and peony. And the flowers are full of flowers, which means "Jade Hall is rich". The magnolia here is very famous. Now the one in front of Inviting the Moon is transplanted from the south by Ganlong.
17 span bridge: Located on Kunming Lake, it flies between Dongdi and Nanhu Island, connecting the Dii Island, and is the largest stone bridge in the garden. The stone bridge is 8m wide and 150m long, and consists of 17 bridge holes. There are more than 500 stone lions of different sizes and shapes carved on the railings on both sides of the stone bridge.
10, Zhou Shi: At the western end of the promenade, there is a big stone boat named Qingyan Boat, which means "sea and river". It is the only western-style building in the Summer Palace. Its predecessor was the release platform of Yuan Jing Temple in Ming Dynasty. When Qianlong repaired Qingyi Garden, it was changed to a boat and renamed as a "stone boat". The stone is 36 meters long and is carved and piled with marble. The ship's hull has two floors, with a tile floor at the bottom and stained glass windows and brick carvings at the top. When it rains, the rainwater falling on the top of the ship passes through the hollow columns at the four corners and is discharged into the lake through the four faucet ports of the hull. This design is very clever.
1 1. Grand Theatre Architecture: In Dehe Garden, it is called the three major stages in Qing Dynasty together with Yinqing Pavilion in chengde mountain resort and Yinchang Pavilion in the Forbidden City. The theater of Deheyuan was built for Cixi's 60th birthday, and it was specially designed for Cixi to watch the play. It is 2 1 m high, second only to the highest Buddha Pavilion in the Summer Palace. The theater has three floors, and the backstage makeup building has two floors. There are seven "patios" on the roof and "underground wells" on the floor. There are wells and five square pools at the bottom of the stage. When performing a ghost play, you can come down from the "sky", come out from the "underground" and fetch water from the stage.
12, Suzhou Street: It is a commercial street built on both sides of Houhu imitating the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River. During the Qingyiyuan period, there were various shops on the shore, such as jade antique shops, silk shops, dim sum shops, teahouses and gold and silver jewelry shops. The shop assistants are all dressed up by eunuchs and maids. The emperor began to "open" when he was lucky. Dozens of shops on the shore of Houhu Lake were burned down by foreign powers at 1860. The present landscape was rebuilt by 1986.
13, Copper Pavilion (Baoyunge): Copper Pavilion is one of the most exquisite and largest copper castings in China. A 4-meter-high white marble pedestal was built in Wufangge on the west side of Foxiangge, which was built in Qianlong period, with a height of 7.5 meters and a weight of 207 tons. A fan with diamonds on all sides. Although it is made of copper, it is completely made according to the wooden frame structure. There are doors in the east, south and west, four lattice doors and eight lattice windows in the north. Door and window lattice fans have rhombic lattice fan centers, and the upper part of curtain frame also has lattice fan centers, and all lattice fan centers are inside and outside.
14, Traveling in the Pictorial World: Traveling in the Pictorial World is an important group of scenic buildings in the west of Wanshou Mountain. Built on the mountain, there are two pavilions on the front, one on the left and one on the right, named "Love Mountain" and "Borrowing Autumn". There is a stone archway behind the pavilion, and behind the archway is the "Cheng Hui Pavilion". There is a climbing corridor between the buildings. Because it is located halfway up the mountain, the architectural forms are rich and colorful. Buildings, pavilions and corridors are built according to different contours. A group of buildings covered with red, yellow, blue and green glazed tiles are surrounded by green mountains and cypresses, which looks like a landscape painting of China.
15, Wisdom Sea: It is a religious building at the top of Wanshou Mountain. It is a beamless Buddhist temple built entirely of bricks and stones, which is composed of criss-crossing arch coupons. The outer layer of the building is all decorated with exquisite yellow-green glazed tiles, and the upper part is covered with a small amount of purple and blue glazed tiles. The whole building looks colorful and magnificent. In particular, thousands of glazed buddhas embedded in the external walls of temples are more distinctive. The word "wisdom sea" is a Buddhist term, which is intended to praise Buddha's wisdom as the sea and boundless Buddhism. Although the building is very similar to a wooden structure, it actually has no wood, and it is all made of Shi Zhuan vouchers without purlins, so it is called "No Beam Hall". It is also known as the "Infinite Hall" because it is dedicated to the Buddha with infinite longevity.
16, Tongniu: Tongniu is on the east bank of Kunming Lake, and on the north side of the east bridge head of 17-hole bridge. 1755 is made of copper and is called "Taurus". The bronze bull is designed to suppress floods.
17, Yulantang: Yulantang was built in the southwest of Renshou Hall, facing the lake. It is a three-in-one quadrangle building. Magnolia Hall in the main hall faces south, with Xia Fen Hall in the east and Lotus Champs in the west. The East Hall can reach Renshou Hall, the West Hall can reach the lakeside wharf, and the back door of the main hall faces Yiyuntang. 1898, Emperor Guangxu, who advocated political reform, was imprisoned here after Cixi launched a palace coup.
18, Humor Garden: Humor Garden, located at the east foot of Wanshou Mountain, is an independent garden with southern garden style. Qingyi Park, formerly known as Huishan Park, was built after Wuxi Huishan Airport Park. 18 1 1 year after renovation, it was renamed as "Harmony Garden" according to the meaning of "quiet interest outside things and harmony in fields" in the poem "One Pavilion and One Path" inscribed by Emperor Qianlong. There are thirteen pavilions, terraces, halls and pavilions in the park, which are connected with hundreds of verandahs and five bridges in different forms. There is a stone bridge in the southeast corner of the park, and the word "Zhiyu Bridge" inscribed by Gan Long is on the stone square at Qiaotou, which is based on the argument between Zhuangzi and Keiko about "Qiushui City".
19, Four States: Four States are in the middle of Wanshou Mountain, which are Sino-Tibetan buildings. The museum covers an area of 20,000 square meters and was built on the spot because of the mountain. In front of it is the spirit world of Xumi Mountain (now changed to a platform), with classic buildings 3 meters high on both sides, and behind it is Zongyin Pavilion in Xiang Yan, which is the main building of temples and temples. It is surrounded by four continents symbolizing the Buddhist world-Dongsheng Shenzhou, Xi Niuhuozhou, Nanshan Buzhou, Beiju Luzhou and eight small continents made of towers of different forms. There are four Lama pagodas in the south, southwest, northeast and northwest, representing the "four wisdom" in Buddhist scriptures. There are thirteen layers of annular "phase wheels" on the tower, indicating the "thirteenth day" of Buddhist scriptures. This tower is unique, solemn and beautiful. There are two uneven platforms between the four continents and the eight small continents, one representing the platform and the other representing the sun platform, symbolizing that the sun and the moon surround the Buddha.