The main scenic area of the Summer Palace is composed of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, covering an area of 3.009 square kilometers (of which the area of the Summer Palace World Cultural Heritage Area is 2.97 square kilometers), and the water surface accounts for about three quarters. There are 70000 square meters of palaces, gardens and ancient buildings in the park, which are famous for their precious cultural relics and are the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

　　The Summer Palace, formerly known as Qingyi Garden, was built in the 15th year of Qianlong (1750) of the Qing Dynasty and burned down by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in the 10th year of Xianfeng (1860). In the 12th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1886), the Qing court embezzled funds from the navy and began to rebuild it, and two years later, it took the present name as the home of the Empress Dowager Cixi. It was destroyed by the Eight-Power Allied Forces in 1900 and repaired in 1902. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, after several renovations, the Summer Palace has successively rebuilt four important scenic spots, such as the Four Continents, Suzhou Street, Jingming Tower, Tanning Hall, the Summer Palace Museum and the Farming and Weaving Map.

　　The Summer Palace is a masterpiece of traditional gardening art. With the landscape environment around it, it not only has the magnificent momentum of imperial gardens, but also is full of natural interest, which highly reflects the gardening principle of Chinese gardens that "although it is made by man, it is like opening up from heaven". In December 1998, the Summer Palace was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

　　Main attractions:

　　1. Suzhou Street

　　Suzhou Street, formerly known as Wanshou Trading Street, was built by Emperor Qianlong in imitation of a water town in the south of the Yangtze River. It was a water street for emperors and empresses of the Qing Dynasty to visit the market. The clerks in the shops were all dressed up as eunuchs and palace maids. Open for business at the emperor's parade. Dozens of shops on the shore of Houhu Lake were burned down by foreign powers in the tenth year of Xianfeng (1860) and rebuilt on the site in 1990, which is the only copy of the ancient palace market in China.

　　Suzhou Street is located in the middle of Suzhou River, with a total length of more than 300 meters, one water and two streets, and a market along the coast. There are 64 shops of various types, 14 archways and eight small bridges. There are teahouses, restaurants, banks, pharmacies, pawnshops, silk shops, printing houses and other buildings on both sides.

　　2. Longevity Hill

　　Longevity Hill belongs to the remaining vein of Yanshan Mountain, with a height of 58.59 meters. The building complex is built on the hill, and the front hill of Longevity Hill is centered on the Buddhist Incense Pavilion with eight sides, three layers and four eaves, forming a huge main building complex. From the "Yunhui Yuyu" archway at the foot of the mountain, through the Paiyun Gate, the Second Palace Gate, the Paiyun Hall, the Dehui Hall, the Buddhist Incense Pavilion, to the Wisdom Sea at the top of the mountain, a central axis rising layer by layer is formed. On the east side, there are stone tablets of "Zhuan Lun Zang" and "Longevity Hill Kunming Lake". On the west side, there are the Wufang Pavilion and the bronze Baoyun Pavilion. There are Xizang Buddhist buildings and multicolored glazed pagodas on the back hill. On the mountain, there are pavilions and pavilions such as Jingfu Pavilion, Chongcui Pavilion, Qiuxuan Pavilion and Painting Pavilion. A group of central buildings with large volume and rich image will be built in the middle. This large group of buildings includes the main buildings in the park, the "Hall of Dispelling Clouds" where emperors and empresses held celebrations and meetings, and the "Buddhist Incense Pavilion" of Buddhist temples. Corresponding to the longitudinal axis of the central building complex is the "long corridor" which runs across the foothills and along the north shore of the lake.

　　3. Four continents

　　Located in the middle of the back hill of Longevity Hill, the four major prefectures are buildings of Han and Xizangan style. Covering an area of 20,000 square meters, the pavilion is built on the spot because of the mountain homeopathy. There is a Sumeru Lingjing (now changed to a platform) in the front, a 3-meter-high sutra building on both sides, and the main building of the temple group, Xiangyan Zongyin Pavilion. It is surrounded by four continents symbolizing the Buddhist world-Dongsheng Shenzhou, Xiniuhuo Zhou, Nanshanbu Zhou, Beigulu Zhou and eight small continents built with different forms of towers. In the south, southwest, northeast and northwest, there are also four Lama pagodas, red, white, black and green, which represent the "four wisdom" of Buddhist scriptures. On the pagoda, there are thirteen layers of ring-shaped "phase wheels", which represent the "thirteen days" of the Buddhist Sutra. The tower is unique, dignified and beautiful in shape. In the middle of the four large continents and the eight small continents, there are two uneven platforms, one representing the platform and the other representing the sun platform, symbolizing that the sun and the moon surround the Buddha's body.

　　4. Buddha Incense Pavilion

　　The Buddha Incense Pavilion is located on the hillside in the central part of the front of Longevity Hill. It is built on a square platform 21 meters high. It is a building with eight sides, three floors and four eaves. The pavilion is 41 meters high. There are eight huge iron pear wood Optimus Prime in the pavilion. The structure is complex. It is a classical architectural masterpiece. After the original pavilion was burned down by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in the tenth year of Xianfeng (1860), it was rebuilt at a cost of 780,000 taels of silver in the seventeenth year of Guangxu (1891) and completed in the twentieth year of Guangxu (1894), which is the largest project in the Summer Palace. Inside the pavilion, "Jieyin Buddha" is worshipped for the royal family to burn incense here.

　　5. Baoyun Pavilion

　　Baoyun Pavilion (Copper Pavilion) is one of the most exquisite and largest copper castings in China. Built on a 4-meter-high white marble seat in the Wufang Pavilion on the west side of the Buddha Incense Pavilion, it was built in the Qianlong period, 7.5 meters high and weighs 207 tons. There are water chestnut fans on all sides. Although it is made of copper, it is made completely according to the wooden frame structure. There are doors on the east, south and west sides, which are four lattice doors and eight lattice windows on the north side. The door and window grilles are provided with a rhombus grille center, the upper part of the curtain frame is also provided with a grille center, and all the grille centers are provided with two layers inside and outside.

　　6. Hall of Dispelling Clouds

　　The Hall of Dispelling Clouds is located in the center of the building in front of Longevity Hill. It was originally the Dabao'en Yanshou Temple built by Emperor Qianlong for his mother's 60th birthday. When Cixi rebuilt it, it was changed into the Hall of Dispelling Clouds. It was the place where Cixi lived in the garden and received worship on her birthday. The word "Pai Yun" is taken from Guo Pu's poem "Immortal Pai Yun comes out, but sees the gold and silver platform", which is a metaphor for the immortal who is about to appear in the mist-shrouded Fairy Mountain Qiong Pavilion. Seen from a distance, the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, the Archway, the Gate of Dispelling Clouds, the Golden Devine Might, and the Gate of the Second Palace are connected in a straight line that rises layer by layer. The Hall of Dispelling Clouds is the most spectacular architectural group in the Summer Palace.

　　7. Promenade

　　The corridor is located at the southern foot of Longevity Hill, facing Kunming Lake, north of Longevity Hill, east of Inviting Moon Gate and west of Shizhang Pavilion, with a total length of 728 meters and 273 rooms. It is the longest corridor in Chinese gardens. In 1992, it was recognized as the longest corridor in the world and listed in the Guinness World Records. Each square beam on the corridor is painted with more than 14000 pictures, including landscapes, flowers, birds, fish and insects, and allusions to people. The figure paintings in the paintings are all based on Chinese classical masterpieces.

　　8. Kunming Lake

　　Kunming Lake is the main water surface of the Summer Palace. It is the largest lake in the imperial gardens of the Qing Dynasty, accounting for three quarters of the total area of the garden, about 220 hectares. In the south, the former lake area is rippling with blue waves and misty waves, undulating in the west and pavilions in the north; The Seventeen-Arch Bridge lies across the lake. The lake is modeled on the West Lake in Hangzhou and built into the West Causeway. The West Causeway and its tributaries divide the lake into three water areas of different sizes. Each water area has an island in the middle of the lake, forming the water management mode of "one pool and three mountains" in the imperial gardens of past Dynasties in China. There are three central islands in the lake, namely "South Lake Island", "Zhijingge Island" and "Zaojiantang Island". There are different forms of classical architecture on the three islands in the lake. In the 1990s, multidisciplinary analysis and research proved that the lake has a history of 3500 years.

　　9. Draw the middle reaches

　　The middle reaches of the painting is an important group of scenic buildings in the west of Longevity Hill. It is built on the hill, with a two-storey pavilion on the front and a floor on the left and right, named "Love Mountain" and "Borrow Autumn". It is an octagonal two-storey pavilion, with two pavilions and two floors in the east and west, followed by a white stone archway and a three-room hall, each with a climbing corridor to communicate. Because the building is built against the mountain, the field of vision is wide, and the view along the corridor seems to be in the middle of the painting, so it is named "the middle reaches of the painting".

　　There is a stone archway behind the pavilion, and behind the archway is "Chenghui Pavilion". There is a climbing corridor between the buildings. Because it is located on the hillside, the architectural forms are rich and colorful. Buildings, pavilions and corridors are built on different contour lines. A group of buildings covered by red, yellow, blue and green glazed tiles are surrounded by green mountains and cypresses, which resembles a landscape painting.

　　10. Hall for Listening to Orioles

　　Hall for Listening to Orioles is one of the thirteen main buildings in the park. It is separated by a long corridor, facing Kunming Lake and backed by the "middle reaches of the painting" on Longevity Hill. It got its name by comparing the beautiful music of the opera with the call of the oriole. Hall for Listening to Orioles covers an area of more than 5000 square meters, with six restaurants and ancient stage, such as Shou Dining Hall, Fushou Dining Hall and Medicinal Dining Hall. It can accommodate 400 people at the same time.

　　Covering an area of 120 square meters, the ancient stage has two floors, facing north, and is located in the center of the courtyard. The background of the stage is a red festive pattern of five blessings and longevity. The roof of the stage is painted with chicken, fish, jade, peony, magnolia and other traditional Chinese paintings, expressing the beautiful meaning of good luck, annual surplus, flowers and wealth. The interior decoration of the restaurant is elegant and gorgeous, which sets off the royal atmosphere of the palace birthday banquet everywhere.

　　11. Garden of Harmonious Interests

　　Located at the eastern foot of Longevity Hill, Garden of Harmonious Interests is an independent garden with southern garden style. Qingyi Garden was named "Huishan Garden", which was built in imitation of Wuxi Huishan Jichang Garden. After rebuilding in the 16th year of the reign of Emperor Jiaqing (1811), it was renamed "Garden of Harmony and Interest", taking the meaning of "quiet interest outside things, harmony in the field" and the poem of Emperor Qianlong, "one pavilion, one path, foot harmony and interest". There are thirteen pavilions, terraces, halls and pavilions in the park, which are connected by hundreds of verandas and five bridges of different forms. There is a stone bridge in the southeast corner of the park. On the stone square of the bridge head, there is a three-character inscription of "Zhiyu Bridge" written by Qianlong, which quotes the argument between Zhuangzi and Huizi on "Qiushuihao".

　　12. The Hall of Joyful Longevity

　　The Hall of Joyful Longevity is the main building in the living area of the Summer Palace. It was originally built in the 15th year of Qianlong (1750), destroyed in the 10th year of Xianfeng (1860), and rebuilt in the 13th year of Guangxu (1887). Facing Kunming Lake and backed by Longevity Hill, the Hall of Happiness and Longevity reaches the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity in the east and the Long Corridor in the west. It is the best place to live and play in the park. In front of the hall, there is a dock where Cixi took a boat. The horizontal plaque of "Hall of Happiness and Longevity" with gold characters on a black background is written by Guangxu. Bronze deer, bronze cranes and bronze vases are displayed in the courtyard of the Hall of Happiness and Longevity, which means "Liuhe Taiping". The flowers in the courtyard are magnolia, crabapple, peony and so on, and the courtyard is full of famous flowers, which means "Yutang Fugui".

　　13. Hall of Fragrant Grass

　　Hall of Fragrant Grass was built in the 15th year of Qianlong (1750) and rebuilt in the 12th year of Guangxu (1886). "Yiyun" means the collection of books. Qingyi Garden was the library of Emperor Qianlong, with elegant furnishings. The Summer Palace was the bedroom of Empress Longyu of Guangxu. Because of the different architectural functions and the identity of the owner, the layout of the furnishings has changed greatly. In 1979, after the repair of the ancient building, only furniture was displayed in the room. In 1992, more than 100 pieces of cultural relics were displayed in the whole group according to the layout of the display archives in Qingyi Garden.

　　14. Grand Theater Building

　　The Grand Theater is located in the Dehe Garden, together with the Qingyin Pavilion in the Chengde Imperial Mountain Summer Resort and the Changyin Pavilion in the Forbidden City, known as the three major stages of the Qing Dynasty. The Grand Theater Building in the Garden of Virtue and Harmony was built for Cixi's 60th birthday. It is 21 meters high, second only to the highest Buddhist Incense Pavilion in the Summer Palace. There are three floors in the theater building and two floors in the backstage makeup building. There are seven "patios" in the roof and "pits" in the floor. There are wells and five square pools at the bottom of the stage. When performing a ghost play, it can fall from the "sky" or come out from the "earth", and it can also lead water to the stage.

　　15. Hall of Jade Ripples

　　Hall of Jade Ripples is a three-sided courtyard-style building built in the southwest of Renshou Hall near Kunming Lake. The main hall, Hall of Jade Ripples, faces south, with Xiafen Room in the east and Lotus Root Pavilion in the west. The east hall leads to the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, the west hall leads to the lakeside pier, and the back door of the main hall faces the Yiyun Hall. The back eaves and the two side halls are isolated from the outside world by brick walls, which is an important historical relic in the Summer Palace. In the 24th year of Guangxu (1898), after Cixi launched a palace coup, Emperor Guangxu, who advocated political reform, was imprisoned here, which was the bedroom of Emperor Guangxu.

　　16. Hall of Benevolence and Longevity

　　The Hall of Benevolence and Longevity was first built in the 15th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1750). It was burned down by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in the 10th year of the reign of Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty (1860). It was rebuilt in the 12th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1886). It was located in the Eastern palace gate of the Summer Palace Gate. It was renamed the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity because of the meaning of "benevolence and longevity" in the Analects of Confucius. In the two historical periods of Qianlong and Guangxu, it was the place where the emperors came to govern, and the main layout of the furnishings was roughly the same, which was the specific form of the royal palace furnishings. However, the furnishings are different, and the furnishings in the Summer Palace period are much more luxurious than in the Qingyi Garden period. Now the central part of the hall's furnishings follows the original Guangxu period, and the rest of the furnishings have changed slightly. Most of the cultural relics, books and furniture in the original hall are preserved in the cultural relics warehouse, except for those on display in the hall.

　　17. Eastern palace gate

　　The Eastern palace gate is now the main gate of the Summer Palace, facing east. The lintels and eaves of the gate are all painted with gorgeous patterns. The six vermilion gates are inlaid with neat yellow nails. Under the middle eaves, there is a large plaque with the words "Summer Palace" on it, which is inscribed by Emperor Guangxu himself. The Yunlong stone carved with two dragons playing with a pearl in front of the gate was carved in the Qianlong era and moved from the ruins of the Old Summer Palace (Anyou Palace). It is a symbol of the emperor's dignity. The gate of the East Palace was only for the emperors and empresses of the Qing Dynasty.

　　18. Qingyan Boat

　　Qingyan Boat, commonly known as Stone Boat, is a large stone boat by the lake at the west end of the corridor, which means "Hai Qing He Yan". It is the only building with Western style in the Summer Palace. Its predecessor was the release platform of yuanjing Temple in the Ming Dynasty. When Qianlong built Qingyi Garden, he changed the platform into a boat and renamed it "Stone Boat". The marble boat is 36 meters long, and the boat is built with marble carvings. There are two floors on the hull, the floor is paved with tiles, the windows are stained glass, and the top is decorated with brick carvings. When it rains, the rainwater falling on the top of the boat passes through the hollow pillars at the four corners and is discharged into the lake by the four taps of the boat.

　　19. Wenchang Gallery

　　Wenchang Gallery, located in the east of Wenchang Pavilion in the Summer Palace, is the largest and highest-grade exhibition hall of cultural relics in Chinese classical gardens. There are six special exhibition halls in the museum, displaying thousands of fine cultural relics of the Summer Palace from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties to the late Qing Dynasty, including bronze, jade, porcelain, gold and silver, bamboo and wood, lacquerware, furniture, calligraphy and painting, ancient books, enamel, clocks and watches, miscellaneous items, etc., covering many categories of Chinese cultural relics handed down from ancient times. Due to the specific royal environment of the Summer Palace, these works of art represent the best level of craftsmanship at that time, and many of them were the most important treasures of the country at that time. There are also some articles for daily use of the Qing Dynasty court on display in the museum, which are closely related to the lives of emperors and empresses, with outstanding historical value, and are the most authentic material evidence of Chinese royal culture.

　　20. Wenchang Pavilion

　　Wenchang Pavilion was originally a city pass, which is the largest of the six city passes in the Summer Palace (Ziqi Donglai City Pass, Suyun Yan City Pass, Yinhui City Pass, Tongyun City Pass, Qianfeng Caicui City Pass and Wenchang Pavilion City Pass). During the construction of Qingyi Garden, it was transformed into one of the gates of Qingyi Garden. It was built in the 15th year of Qianlong (1750), burned down by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in the 10th year of Xianfeng (1860), and rebuilt in Guangxu. The main pavilion of Wenchang Pavilion has two floors, in which there are bronze cast Wenchang Emperor, fairy boy and bronze mule. Wenchang Pavilion and the Suyun eaves in the west of Kunming Lake for Wu Sheng symbolize "Wen Wu Fu Bi". The four corners of Chengtou are in the shape of a "person", with a three-storey pavilion in the middle. The middle level is dedicated to the bronze statue of Wenchang Emperor and the statue of the fairy boy, beside which there is a bronze mule, which is very distinctive.

　　21. Sea of Wisdom

　　The Sea of Wisdom is a religious building at the top of Longevity Hill. It is a beamless Buddhist hall made entirely of bricks and stones, consisting of arched structures. The outer layer of the building is decorated with exquisite yellow and green glazed tiles, and the upper part is covered with a small amount of purple and blue glazed tiles, especially the thousands of glazed Buddhas embedded in the outer wall of the hall. The word "sea of wisdom" is a Buddhist term, which means to praise the wisdom of Buddha as the sea and the boundless Dharma. Although the building is very much like a wooden structure, but in fact there is no wood, all made of stone bricks, there is no square purlin load-bearing, so it is called "Beamless Hall". It is also called the "Hall of Infinite Life" because the Buddha of Infinite Life is worshipped in the hall.

　　22. Bronze Bull

　　Tongniu is located on the east bank of Kunming Lake, on the north side of the east bridge head of the Seventeen-Arch Bridge. It was set up to suppress floods. In 1755, the 20th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong, it was cast in copper and was called "Jinniu".

　　23. Seventeen-Arch Bridge

　　The Seventeen-Arch Bridge is located on Kunming Lake, between the East Causeway and the South Lake Island, connecting the Causeway Island. It is the largest stone bridge in the park. The stone bridge is 8 meters wide and 150 meters long, consisting 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.