The Summer Palace is located in the northwestern part of Beijing. First built in 1750, largely destroyed in the war of 1860, and restored on its original foundation in 1886, it served four generations of the imperial family, and is now a popular resort for people from all walks of life. Covering an area of 290 hectares, the Summer Palace occupies a very important position in Chinese landscape gardening. It was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in 1998.

There are such famous sites as the Foxiang Pavillion, Marble Boat, 17-Arched Bridge and Suzhou Street. The Long Corridor, established in 1750, is a covered promenade stretching for 728 m with the spectacular view of more than 8,000 paintings in traditional Chinese style. In addition, there are dozens of bridges, pavilions, etc. The Palace is an outstanding example of imperial parks and private gardens with features of both northern and southern China. In addition, there are tens of thousand historic relics preserved in the palace.