GardenThe Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan & the Western Hills
SUMMER PALACE (YIHEYUAN) · YIHEYUAN
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VERIFIED2026.09.11The Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan & the Western Hills · 40.000°N 116.275°E
TicketedClosure day
The best-preserved imperial garden in China and the one Beijing sight that rewards a slow day: 290 hectares of lake and hill laid out in 1750 on the model of Hangzhou's West Lake, rebuilt by the Empress Dowager Cixi in the 1880s with navy money and used as her court until 1908. The highlights are the 728 m Long Corridor, the Tower of Buddhist Incense on Longevity Hill, the Marble Boat, the Seventeen-Arch Bridge and a mile of causeway on the far shore. Tickets come in two layers: a ¥30 park ticket (¥20 in winter) and a ¥60 combined ticket that adds the four inner gardens, which, unlike the park, close on Mondays.
ClosedPark daily; four inner gardens close Mondays (holidays open)Verified · 2026-09Source ↗
IDReal-name entry; passport handling is unconfirmed.Verified · 2026-09Details ↓Source ↗
LandmarkKunming Lake and Longevity Hill, 15 km north-west of the centre
Address19 Xinjiangongmen Rd, Haidian (East Palace Gate is the main entrance)Verified · 2026-09Source ↗Navigate ↗
EntranceLine 4 Beigongmen station, Exit D, is the North Palace Gate (Suzhou St, the back of the hill); for the East Palace Gate and the classic route take Line 4 to Xiyuan, Exit C2, then 800 m west, or bus 330/331 to the gate
Last verified 2026-09-11
How to book
All seven gates sell tickets (tourism-bureau page: 七个门区均可购票入园); online through the municipal '畅游公园' channels or the '颐和园' WeChat official account / mini-program (park centre notice, Dec 2025) — booking not stated as compulsoryVerified · 2025-12Source ↗
ID details
Real-name entry; passport handling is unconfirmed. Real-name for online tickets (municipal platform; passport acceptance unconfirmed — see city rules); at the gate, over-60 foreign visitors enter free on a passport, foreign students and minors with permanent residence get concessions (tourism-bureau page) — see the city tips note on concessions.
Beat the crowds
The Long Corridor and the Tower of Buddhist Incense are packed 9:30-15:00 every day of the year; the West Causeway and the south shore around the Seventeen-Arch Bridge are quiet at any hour. Enter early (gates open 6:00) or spend the afternoon on the far shore. The inner gardens shut on Mondays, so a Monday visit is the park without the pavilion, the theatre and Suzhou Street.
Language
Bilingual signs on the main halls and the map boards; audio guides in several languages rented at the East Palace Gate (price not checked); the tourism-bureau page is Chinese.