World Cultural Heritage: The Summer Palace

Watch Video: The Summer Palace

Date of Inscription: 1998

Assessment of the World Heritage Committee:

The Summer Palace of Beijing began construction in 1750. It was badly damaged during the war in 1860, but was repaired on its original site in 1886. Its man-made landscapes including the pavilions, the Long Corridor, palaces, temples and bridges and its natural hills and extensive lake surface perfectly and harmoniously combine together, and make it an excellent work of China's scenery garden and park design.

Chinese name: Yi He Yuan

English name: Summer Palace

Code: 200-020

Based on the standards C (I) (II) (III) for selecting cultural heritage, the Summer Palace was listed in the World Heritage List in November 1998.

The Summer Palace, which was a garden and temporary palace for the royal family of the Qing Dynasty, is located in the northwestern suburb of Beijing, 20 kilometers from the Tian'anmen Gate. The design and layout of the Summer Palace was based on the actual landforms and extremely delicate. The hills, lakes and buildings in the Palace are all splendid. The entire scenic area is very large in scale. It is an outstanding piece of work which absorbed the essences of China's architectural arts, and is also one of the most renowned classical parks in the world.