Beijing’s Old Summer Palace – a hidden treasure

Beijing has two summer palaces. The newer one with its giant pagoda on top of Longevity Hill with the massive manmade lake in front and world’s longest covered walkway is the more visited of the two. It is the UNESCO World Heritage Site and the one China chose to restore in the 1980s for tourists. It was built just across the street from the Old Summer Palace.

The older was in many ways much grander, more expansive, and more lavish, but during a siege by Western thugs was nearly completely destroyed as an act of retribution and revenge. A few things have been restored or rebuilt. However, most of it is just open parklands now with lovely paths to stroll down and interpretive signs to share what once was there.

The remaining ruins are from stone buildings built by skilled Jesuit architects in a hybrid Chinese Baroque style. Even these were mostly destroyed with carved stones and sculptures being pilfered for several decades before the park was preserved as a national archeological site.

This quiet garden on the edge of the city is a delight to visit. You can go for the architectural ruins or just stroll down some of the meandering trails that cross, skirt, and lead to a myriad of canals and ponds. I did a little of both on my recent visit. Being autumn, the leaves were changing providing a spectacular backdrop to experience the gardens in.

The Stone Ruins of the Old Summer Palace

I entered from the south gate near the subway station, Yuanmingyuan, which is also the name of the park. From there I stayed mostly on the east side as I found my way to the big draw—the European-style ruins. Along the way, I crossed bridges, found black swans, marveled at carpets of yellow gingko leaves, and generally enjoyed the stroll. At the north end I found the entrance to the special stone ruins.

the ruins of the only original stone bridge at the park with a replica bridge behind

yellow willows reflect in the water

a gamut of autumn colors filled the park

This lone burnt orange maple tree glowed on the hillside

bridges and lakes make up a big portion of the Old Summer Palace

reflection of autumn

one of several pairs of black swans in the palace grounds

This is also where the tour crowds get a little more annoying. Before that it felt like a lovely jaunt in the park passing a few people who were also enjoying the scenery and beautiful weather. However, as I approached the most spectacular of the ruins, I heard the static of a Chinese tour guide’s booming hip speaker. I held my distance until they were done, which is how I found the bust of Victor Hugo in a niche of the garden. He described this once majestic wonder of the world in a letter condemning its destruction.

“Imagine some inexpressible construction, something like a lunar building, and you will have the Summer Palace. Build a dream with marble, jade, bronze and porcelain, frame it with cedar wood, cover it with precious stones, drape it with silk, make it here a sanctuary, there a harem, elsewhere a citadel, put gods there, and monsters, varnish it, enamel it, gild it, paint it, have architects who are poets build the thousand and one dreams of the thousand and one nights, add gardens, basins, gushing water and foam, swans, ibis, peacocks, suppose in a word a sort of dazzling cavern of human fantasy with the face of a temple and palace, such was this building…

“People spoke of the Parthenon in Greece, the pyramids in Egypt, the Coliseum in Rome, Notre-Dame in Paris, the Summer Palace in the Orient. If people did not see it they imagined it. It was a kind of tremendous unknown masterpiece, glimpsed from the distance in a kind of twilight, like a silhouette of the civilization of Asia on the horizon of the civilization of Europe.”

He then wrote “This wonder has disappeared,” and went on to condemn the role of France and Britain in the ransacking and burning of the Old Summer Palace calling the two parties robbers who looted a museum and laughed on the way out as they torched the place. I don’t want to wax political, but this seems to be a shadow of what is happening somewhere in the world right now as ancient cities and temples are demolished by extremist thugs of a different nationality.

Even though there were tour groups, I did get a few minutes at the glorious fountain ruins before any others came along. It wasn’t until I moved on that I ran into more. There are several more baroque ruins before leaving this area of the park, what is left of temples, living quarters, an aviary, and grand “Versailles” of China. The stone carvings are exquisite and worthy of close inspection. The rebuilt labyrinth is also kind of fun.

remnants of an old temple turned mosque for a concubine

another elaborate fountain

the rebuilt stone maze

the rebuilt stone maze with beautiful gazebo at the center

an original fountain restored to its home at the palace in the 1980s after being found in a Beijing hutong

ruins of the first European-style building at Beijing’s Old Summer Palace

ruins of the first European-style building at Beijing’s Old Summer Palace

ruins of the first European-style building at Beijing’s Old Summer Palace

ruins of the first European-style building at Beijing’s Old Summer Palace

ruins of the first European-style building at Beijing’s Old Summer Palace

The Open Parkland of the Old Summer Palace

After leaving this section of the park, I went to the western area. This area used to be dotted with temples, libraries, pavilions, and more for hundreds of years. However, they were all of the Chinese style made of wood. So, when the palace was attacked, these buildings were quickly lost forever. It is truly a loss to humanity as they would have been some of the best examples of true Chinese architecture in the country especially as they were laid out in the garden with its numerous water features.

Longevity Hill with its crowing pagoda and temple at the newer Summer Palace

so many lovely bridges and waterways

so many lovely bridges and waterways

I could have been lost there for a long time just because of the tranquility of the place. And, I did for a little bit, but I didn’t mind it one bit. I will return in spring to see the gardens in bloom. They have many lotus ponds, groves of peach trees, and grandly laid out peony beds. It should be spectacular.

When visiting this hidden treasure, be sure to get the through ticket to visit both the stone ruins and the miniature model of what the gardens looked like in their glory. Take your time and soak it up. A visit to Beijing’s Old Summer Palace will be a rejuvenating experience for you.