Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace)
The Gardens of Perfect Brightness, destroyed in 1860 and kept as ruins ever since.
Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace)
Yuanmingyuan — the Gardens of Perfect Brightness — was begun in 1707, greatly expanded from 1725, and extended again under the Qianlong Emperor, who added European-style palaces from 1747. It covered more than three and a half square kilometres. In October 1860, at the end of the Second Opium War, French and British troops took and looted it, and on 18 October 1860 Lord Elgin ordered its complete destruction; it took four thousand men three days. What survives is deliberately not restored. The most photographed fragment is the carved stonework of the European palaces, standing in grass in Haidian District. It is a park and a ruin, and it is one of the few places in Beijing that is about loss rather than continuity.
Explore Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace) on the map
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What to see
A very large park with the ruins concentrated in one part of it.
The ruins
- The carved marble fragments of the Western Mansions, the European-style palaces begun in 1747.
- The maze, reconstructed on its original footprint.
- The scale of the grounds themselves — over 3.5 km², which is the point of the site.
The park
- Lakes and planting across the wider grounds, used by the city as an ordinary park.
- The site museum, which explains what stood where.
Getting there
Haidian District in the north-west, on the subway.
By subway
- The subway serves the site directly and is the straightforward approach from the centre.
- The Summer Palace is close by, and the two are often combined — but both are large.
- The ruins are some distance inside the park from the gates; allow for the walk.
Best time
A clear day, because almost all of it is outdoors.
When to go
- September–October and April–May are the clear, mild windows.
- Autumn colour through the grounds is the strongest the site looks.
- Summer is hot and exposed; the park has limited shade in the ruined section.
Visitor intelligence
Two practical points and one about expectations.
Practical
- The park entry and the ruins area may be ticketed separately — check at the gate.
- It is a long walk from the entrance to the Western Mansions; wear the right shoes.
- Do not expect a palace. The site was destroyed and is kept that way deliberately.
Nearby
North-west Beijing.
Frequently asked
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