World Heritage #0880 – Summer Palace

Last modified 28.03.2022 | Published 20.03.1985China, North, Central and East Asia, World Heritage Sites

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The Summer Palace is set in a large area north of Beijing with an artificial lake in the midst. Here we find numerous temples and palaces.

The UNESCO World Heritage List includes over a thousand properties with outstanding universal value. They are all part of the world’s cultural and natural heritage.

Official facts

  • Official title: Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing
  • Country: China
  • Date of Inscription: 1998
  • Category: Cultural site

UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre’s short description of site no. 880:

“The Summer Palace in Beijing first built in 1750, largely destroyed in the war of 1860 and restored on its original foundations in 1886 is a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value.”

My visit

I visited the palace for the first time in 1985 and again in 2011. The video is from 2011.

This is a most wonderful park. It is full of little green lungs, quiet areas and fine walks in the woods. It is also a popular destination for the people of Beijing as it was during the summer months a hundred years ago when the emperor and his court moved up there from the Forbidden Palace in Beijing.

Read more about my visit.

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