Beijing Scenery (Full Four Volumes)

Author: Zhang Min
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-09-01
Features: The Summer Palace is located in the Haidian District in the northwest of Beijing. It is the most well-preserved and largest imperial garden in China, as well as one of the world's most famous tourist destinations, belonging to the National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units. The Summer Palace was originally the imperial palace and garden. In 1750, Emperor Qianlong rebuilt it as the Qingyi Garden. In 1860, the Qingyi Garden was destroyed by the Anglo-French forces. In 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi used 30 million taels of silver from the naval budget to rebuild it, renaming it the Summer Palace and turning it into a summer resort for leisure and recreation. By 1900, the Summer Palace suffered further destruction from the "Eight-Nation Alliance," with many buildings burned. It was repaired in 1903. Later, during the warlord and Kuomintang rule, it was damaged again. After the liberation, it underwent continuous renovations, bringing this ancient garden back to life. The Summer Palace covers an area of 290 hectares (4,350 acres), with about three-quarters of it being water. The entire garden is centered around the 41-meter-high Foshan Pavilion on Wanshou Mountain, with exquisite buildings such as halls, pavilions, towers, corridors, and pavilions arranged according to different locations and terrain. A 728-meter-long corridor is built at the foot of the mountain, connecting various buildings, green hills, and blue waters like a colorful ribbon. The artistic conception of the entire garden is ingenious, and it holds a significant position in the history of Chinese and foreign garden art. It is a rare masterpiece of garden art in the world. The Summer Palace is mainly composed of Kunming Lake and Wanshou Mountain, with a total area of over 290 hectares. The Foshan Pavilion on Wanshou Mountain, the copper pavilion, the 1,000-meter-long gallery by the lake, and the 17-arch bridge and stone boat in Kunming Lake are all must-visit attractions. The Summer Palace is located in the western suburbs of Beijing, about 10 kilometers away from the city. You can take suburban public buses or special sightseeing buses to reach it.
The Badaling Hot Spring Resort is located 75 kilometers northwest of Beijing, with direct access via the Badaling Expressway, taking only 40 minutes. It is situated at the central location of tourist attractions such as the Badaling Great Wall, the Badaling Wildlife Park, Longqingxia, Shijinglong Ski Resort, and the Songshan Primary Forest Nature Reserve in Xiandu Yanqing—the summer capital. It is an international three-star resort hotel that integrates accommodation, dining, entertainment, conferences, and tourism.
Upon entering the European-style Badaling Hot Spring Resort, the red-tiled, white-walled buildings and the beautiful environment of distant mountains, near waters, small bridges, and green grass will instantly uplift your spirits. The resort offers 381 rooms across 10 categories, ranging from high-end to budget, capable of accommodating over 800 guests simultaneously. The 24-hour hot spring water in the rooms originates from 2,000 meters underground, with a temperature of 54°C higher than the normal water temperature, and the water quality is excellent, containing various minerals essential for the human body, such as iron, sulfur, silicon, and trace elements, which are beneficial for health and skin beauty.
The catering services offer a variety of specialties, including Huaiyang, Sichuan-Canton, local specialties, hot spring hotpot, lakeside barbecue, and more, catering to different tastes. The water stage adds an endless touch of romance to your dining experience. With ten conference rooms, multi-functional halls, a conference center, and advanced simultaneous interpretation equipment, the resort can accommodate various domestic and international conferences to meet your business needs.
The resort's most distinctive feature is the indoor hot spring water park, covering 4,800 square meters, equipped with a standard swimming pool, wave pool, slide pool, children's play pool, hot spring massage pool, and Sichuan-style hot spring baths, making it an ideal water park. Additionally, the recreation center offers a wide range of leisure and entertainment activities, such as bowling, billiards, table tennis, sandball, badminton, tennis, video games, darts, movie viewing rooms, karaoke lounges, hot spring massages, outdoor rock climbing, fishing, ice skating, boating, and go-karting, allowing you to truly experience relaxation and leisure.
Here, the paths are winding and serene, free from the hustle and pollution of the city—far from paradise, yet almost there. Buffet parties, lakeside barbecues, and the water stage add endless charm. In the tranquil night, enjoy the peace and comfort of the rural outskirts. Come! Let us escape the city's noise and meet at the Badaling Hot Spring Resort.
The Yonghe Palace is located on Yonghe Palace Street in the Dongcheng District. It was originally the Qing Prince Gong's Mansion, the residence of the Prince Gong before Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne. In 1736, it was converted into a palace and renamed Yonghe Palace. In 1748, it was transformed into a Tibetan Buddhist temple, commonly known as a Lamasery. In 1961, it was declared a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council. Today, 14 halls are open to the public.
The Yonghe Palace faces south and consists of five courtyards, with a well-organized layout and strict structure. The towering red walls, yellow glazed tiles, and majestic halls exude an imperial architectural grandeur. Passing through the gate tower courtyard, Zhaotai Gate, and Yonghe Gate, visitors arrive at the third courtyard, which features the Qianlong-era "Lama's Sermon" stele pavilion. The stele inside is inscribed in Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian, and Tibetan. On both sides are the Four Learning Halls: the Lecture Hall, the Esoteric Hall, the Medicine Hall, and the Mathematics Hall, where monks study Buddhist scriptures, medicine, astronomy, and geography. At the northern end of the courtyard is the Yonghe Palace, housing the Three Sages Buddha. The main hall of the fourth courtyard is the Dharmachakra Hall, which enshrines the statue of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa sect. The walls are adorned with Buddhist story murals, and it preserves 315 volumes of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon and the Continuation Canon in Tibetan. On both sides are the Panchen Lama's Hall and the Vajra Platform Hall. The Panchen Lama's Hall exhibition displays the daily life utensils and exquisite ritual instruments and Buddha statues of past Yonghe Palace monks, with nearly 300 pieces. The Vajra Platform Hall exhibition showcases the Golden Urn used for selecting reincarnated lamas and some artifacts from the Qianlong era.
Passing through the Dharmachakra Hall, visitors arrive at the final courtyard—the famous Wanfu Pavilion. Inside the pavilion stands an 18-meter-tall wooden statue of Maitreya, carved from a single piece of sandalwood, considered a masterpiece in the world. In addition to the original arrangement, the pavilion also exhibits the "Qing Dynasty Tibetan Gift Exhibition" and "Tibetan Buddhism and Yonghe Palace," introducing the history of Yonghe Palace to visitors.
The Beijing Grand View Garden is a highly distinctive classical garden in the capital. Within its 13-hectare area, over 40 pavilions, towers, and courtyards are complemented by natural landscapes, blooming flowers, and famous trees, creating a fairyland on earth. Red scholars believe it realizes the "dream within a dream" of Dream of the Red Chamber, architectural scholars consider it a fusion of Red Chamber studies, classical architecture, and traditional landscape design, literary scholars see it as a new model combining film and television set design with garden construction, and cultural relic scholars regard it as adding a new concept of "literary garden" to Chinese garden art, creating a potential cultural heritage and a Red Chamber culture (art) museum, as well as a true artifact of the future. The artistic charm and profound value of the Grand View Garden have been widely recognized by society. Over the past 15-16 years, it has welcomed nearly 26 million visitors, including heads of state and government officials from dozens of countries.
The Beijing Grand View Garden eagerly awaits the arrival of countless Red Chamber dreamers to witness its beauty in person.