Summer Palace The exquisite 290 hectare Summer Palace is the largest imperial garden in the world. The name in Chinese, Yiheyuan means -garden of restful peace and harmony-, and indeed, it served as a summer respite for emperors and their consorts in the nearby countryside. The Summer Palace dates back to 1750 when Emperor Qinglong presented it as a gift of love for his mother on her birthday. It was plundered and destroyed by foreign troops in 1860. The infamous Empress Dowager Cixi was said to have embezzled funds meant for the Imperial Navy to restore this beautiful site. Today it has been reopened as a park for visitors to relax and wonder at the amazing level of “engineered nature”. Get a taste of the Chinese version of a summer vacation here. The Summer Palace is a magnificent representation of classical landscape architecture. Walk through the blissful surroundings of the Longevity Hill with its gently undulating slope and take a lazy boat ride to across Kunming Lake to get up close to the Marble Boat and the 17 Arch Bridge with its 554 stone lions guarding it. Wander down the corridor in all its 700m long splendor, with brightly painted scenes of flower and fable and of the West Lake in Hangzhou. ENHANCEMENTS Arrange for a boat ride, maximum 30 persons per boat Talk on Chinese Art of Finger Painting, Calligraphy or Watercolor painting. REFERENCE : BPT6 Duration : 6 hours Capacity : Unlimited