Summer Palace in Beijing, China

The summer palace is an enchanting side-trip from Beijing where you can discover how emperors spent their vacations thousands of years ago. The palace grounds are huge - over 12 square miles - so even on busy days, you'll likely find a quiet place where you can reflect in the tranquility of this place. The main grounds, which is also the site of the emperor's personal lodge, you'll find a museum housing thousands of artifacts from the Qing and Ming eras.

Be sure to bring a camera, because there are very nice views from the buildings down to the many courtyards and overlooking the palace lake. Expect crowds in the summer, and be sure to bring a camera and a warm jacket as it can get quite cool at night.

Originally conceived as a outer fortress to guard Beijing, these grounds were quickly converted to a luxury retreat for visiting dignitaries by Emperor Ming in 1621. Nowadays, the Summer Palace is visited by over 100,000 tourists each year and is the grounds of the annual Beijing Summer Moon Festival which celebrates the summer solstice with a barrage of fireworks, dragon dances and beautiful costumes.

Photos by Jack Parkinson Pics and jimg944 on flickr

Written by irshadismail on 08 February, 2010 in Destinations.

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