The landscape of the Summer Palace, dominated mainly by Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, covers an area of 3.09 square kilometers, three quarters of which is covered by water. Its 70,000 square meters of floor space accommodate a variety of palaces, gardens and other traditional-style architectural structures. Well known for its large and priceless collection of cultural relics, it was among the first historical and cultural sites in China to receive special protection from the state.

The Summer Palace, originally named Qingyi Yuan, or the Garden of Clear Ripples, was first constructed in 1750. It was razed to the ground by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860. The Qing government began to rebuild it in 1886 with funds misappropriated from the Imperial Navy and other sources. Renamed Yihe Yuan two years later—often rendered as the Garden of Nurtured Harmony—it was intended to serve as a summer resort for the Empress Dowager Cixi. Also known as the Summer Palace, it was ravaged again by the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers that invaded China in 1900, and the damage was repaired in 1902. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Summer Palace has undergone several major renovations. Its major attractions, such as the Four Great Regions, Suzhou Street, the Pavilion of Bright Scenery, the Hall of Serenity, the Wenchang Galleries and the Plowing and Weaving Scenery Area, have been restored one after another.

The Summer Palace is a monument to classical Chinese architecture, in terms of both garden design and construction. Borrowing scenes from the surrounding landscape, it radiates not only the grandeur of an imperial garden but also the beauty of nature, in a seamless combination that best illustrates the guiding principle of traditional Chinese garden design: “The works of men should match the works of Heaven.” In December 1998, UNESCO inscribed the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List with the following comments:
(1) The Summer Palace in Beijing is an outstanding expression of the creative art of Chinese landscape garden design, incorporating the works of humankind and nature in a harmonious whole.
(2) The Summer Palace epitomizes the philosophy and practice of Chinese garden design, which played a key role in the development of this cultural form throughout the East.
(3) The imperial Chinese garden, as exemplified by the Summer Palace, is a potent symbol of one of the major world civilizations.