Summer Palace, Beijing: A Half-Day Route Around Kunming Lake
The Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) is the Qing imperial garden in Haidian, northwest Beijing: Longevity Hill on the north shore and Kunming Lake covering roughly three-quarters of the grounds. Give it a half day of three to four hours. Buy the combined ticket if you want to climb to the Tower of Buddhist Incense, and avoid Mondays, when that tower and the other inner sights are closed. Metro Line 4 gets you there in under an hour from the city centre, which also means it is a poor add-on to any other big sight on the same day.
The Beijing travel guide puts it on day three. Drop it first if you only have two days.
Why the garden looks the way it does
Qianlong began the Garden of Clear Ripples (Qingyiyuan) here in 1750. Anglo-French troops burned it in 1860, and the court rebuilt it in the 1880s for Empress Dowager Cixi under its present name. It was damaged again in 1900 and repaired afterwards. What you walk today is mostly that late-Qing rebuild, which explains the theatre, the boathouses and the marble boat. UNESCO listed it in 1998. Published figures put the area at about 297 to 309 hectares, depending on how the outer grounds are counted.
Tickets: gate or combined
Prices from the Summer Palace official site (summerpalace.net.cn), checked for this update:
| Season | Gate ticket | Combined ticket |
|---|---|---|
| Peak, 1 April to 31 October | 30 yuan | 60 yuan |
| Off, 1 November to 31 March | 20 yuan | 50 yuan |
The combined ticket adds the four inner sites: the Tower of Buddhist Incense (10 yuan on its own), Suzhou Street (10 yuan), the Garden of Virtue and Harmony theatre (5 yuan) and the Summer Palace Museum (20 yuan). If you only want the tower, buying it separately inside costs less. If you want two or more of the inner sites, the combined ticket is simpler. Children 1.2 metres and under enter free, and visitors aged 60 and over, including foreigners showing a passport, also qualify for free entry.
Tickets are sold on the Summer Palace official WeChat account and the Beijing municipal parks platform ("Changyou Gongyuan"), one to seven days ahead, with new dates released at 21:00 each evening. Book with your passport and bring it. Once used, a combined ticket cannot be refunded. On Mondays (except public holidays) the inner sites are closed, so buy only the gate ticket that day.
Hours
- Park grounds: 06:00 to 20:00 in peak season (last entry 19:00); 06:30 to 19:00 off season (last entry 18:00).
- Tower of Buddhist Incense, Suzhou Street, theatre, museum: 08:00 to 18:00 peak (last entry 17:30); 08:30 to 17:00 off season (last entry 16:30). Closed Mondays except key holidays.
The difference between the two clocks is useful. You can walk the lakeshore early, before the inner sites open and before tour groups arrive.
East Palace Gate or North Palace Gate
East Palace Gate is the formal entrance and the one tour groups use. Take Line 4 to Xiyuan and walk about 15 minutes to the gate. You meet the court buildings first (the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, then Cixi's residence at the Hall of Happiness and Longevity), then the Long Corridor. The layout makes the most sense from this side.
North Palace Gate is right by Beigongmen station on Line 4, a few minutes' walk from the exit. It brings you in at the back of Longevity Hill, beside Suzhou Street and the Tibetan-style Four Great Regions temple complex. It is quieter and quicker, but you see the hill from behind first.
One good plan uses both: enter at North Palace Gate, go over the hill, and leave from the East Palace Gate or the New Palace Gate (Xinjiangongmen) on the southeast shore after the lake walk.
A half-day route (about three and a half hours)
- Suzhou Street and the back hill (30 minutes). A canal of shopfronts built to imitate a Jiangnan water town. Best before 10:00, while it is still quiet.
- Over the top to the Tower of Buddhist Incense (45 minutes). The tower stands on a high stone base, and the stairs are steep. The view across Kunming Lake to the Seventeen-Arch Bridge is the one in the photo above.
- Down through the Hall of Dispelling Clouds to the Long Corridor (30 minutes). The covered walkway runs along the north shore for about 700 metres under painted beams. It is shady in summer and at its busiest in late morning, when groups coming in from the east gate reach it.
- West to the Marble Boat, then decide (20 minutes). From the area near the Marble Boat you can take a boat across the lake to South Lake Island, or walk back east around the shore.
- Seventeen-Arch Bridge and South Lake Island (45 minutes). The bridge joins the east shore to the island. The bronze ox stands near the east end.
If you still have energy, the West Causeway, modelled on the Su Causeway in Hangzhou, is the quietest stretch of the park, with its own bridges and willows. Most groups never get that far.
Boats
Boats on Kunming Lake run in the warm months, roughly mid-March to mid-November, and stop in the late afternoon. Crossings and self-drive electric boats are ticketed separately from park entry, and the lake freezes in winter. The ferry from the Marble Boat area to South Lake Island saves the long walk back around the shore. Check the pier boards for the day's last sailing.
Who should skip it
Skip it if you have two days in Beijing: the Forbidden City and the Great Wall come first. Skip it if you have already seen several classical gardens in Suzhou on the same trip and want something different, or if July heat is the forecast and the hill climb sounds like punishment. Keep it if you have a third day and want water, open space and a slower pace after the palace courtyards.
Do not try to fit it into the same day as Mutianyu (Huairou is the wrong direction) or the Forbidden City. It does pair with an easy evening back in town, or with the Old Summer Palace ruins (Yuanmingyuan) next door if you want the history of the 1860 burning.
Things to confirm before you go
- Whether your date is a Monday or a public holiday; it changes what the combined ticket buys.
- Booking release at 21:00, one to seven days ahead.
- Last entry to the inner sites (17:30 in peak season, 16:30 off season).
- Boat operation and last sailing if you want to cross the lake.
- Water and sun protection in summer: the lakeshore has little shade outside the Long Corridor.
Frequently asked questions
Is the combined ticket worth it?
If you plan to climb to the Tower of Buddhist Incense and see Suzhou Street, yes. If you only want the lakeshore walk, or it is Monday, the gate ticket is enough.
Which metro station is best for the Summer Palace?
Beigongmen on Line 4 for the North Palace Gate (shortest walk), Xiyuan on Line 4 for the East Palace Gate (main entrance).
How long do you need at the Summer Palace?
Three to four hours for the hill, the Long Corridor and the bridge. Add an hour for a boat or the West Causeway.