Guests' reviews
Johnny Wu | Jan 12, 2018
Very good preserved historical site. Huge area so be prepared to walk a lot. Went during January winter. Extremely cold with no shelter, so be sure to keep oneself warm (thermal bottle, layers of clothing).
Yun Li | Mar 5, 2018
Good historical spot! Need a long walk... which is kinda tired
Tony Guo | Nov 1, 2017
The "Old" Summer Palace is actually the ruins of the main residence of emperor Qianlong and his successors. Designed in an east-meets-west style, this Chinese-Greco-Roman palace was supposed to be the pinnacle of Chinese imperial palace & garden design. Unfortunately that was burned down during the Second Opium War by the British+French, and the palace was never restored. Nonetheless the grounds are still beautiful, with one-of-a-kind carvings and sculptures you won't see anywhere else in the world.
Allmove | Dec 23, 2017
Can be sad when seeing the ruins , but a great relaxing place to stroll.
Johnny Wang | Jul 22, 2017
A traditional Chinese garden on the outside with many lakes and huge lotuses with beautiful pavilions and willow trees. However, you can buy the cheap ticket into the ruins, which are stunning and beautiful and loo eerily new. The cool thing is, the ruins's stones are only a few feet away from you! There are also museums in there displaying artifacts found in the ruins like porcelain, and the painted ornaments on the walls. Also, try the Beijing yogurt ice cream within the park. Just a beautiful place to have a stroll and a must-see in Beijing!
Tianzi Cai | Apr 3, 2018
The restoration model was a disappointment. It looks as though it has been collecting dust in that exhibition hall for over a decade.
Shady Ali | Mar 10, 2018
Good place for walk and see natural views
Erik Gibson | May 9, 2018
Great place to explore nature while still being in the City.
Alan Pierson | May 23, 2018
Great spot for a casual walk and exploration.
Tony CHAN | May 7, 2018
5 stars must visit tourist place
Jackie Sim | Jun 28, 2018
Although most of the structures have been destroyed, but this is a place that everyone should visit.
Looking at the ruins, you can only imagine how glorious this place was and see the brilliance of the architect, engineer and the workmanship.
There's nothing we can do about it being destroyed by the war, we can only hope the stolen artifices will be returned to where it belongs.
Hopefully one day, we don't have to see those items in another country's museum.
For those who are planning to visit this amazing park, please be prepared to walk for long hours. If you can, spend some fun time in the maze. My kids really enjoyed it.
There is no restaurant in the park, but you can get some snacks and instant noodles in the souvenior shop.
The park operates until quite late at night, but I won't advise to stay on unless you are familiar with the places, equipped with GPS or have a torch light with you.
The last time I visited this park was in 2015. Lucky me, I saw black swans back then. This time I was not so lucky; perhaps there were too many motor boats operating on the lake.
Nevertheless, Yuan Ming Yuan will always had a place in my memories due to its imperfection. Maybe we all need to lose sometime before we know how to appreciate it.
ks chew | Jun 4, 2018
A nice garden to visit. Much lesser crowd than the other garden nearby. Listening to tour guide on the past history of the garden and those stolen treasures by UK and France soldier.
Wit Boy | Jun 9, 2018
Not very exciting place but good to get a more quite place and to have a rest in Beijing. You can use a gondole on the sea way or just have a long walk around this big park also check some ruins from past.
Gauri Ghaisas | Jun 12, 2018
It is the most beautiful park i have ever seen. You can get all the basic information about the three gardens in old summer palace on various websites. It is easy to reach here by subway (line 4). Take the subway going to Anheqiao north and get down at Yuanmingyuan park station. Take the exit B, and you can see south gate of the park within few meters. The ticket was just 10 ¥ and it was super surprising. Once you enter and walk about 800meters there is a junction of 3 gardens.
It is very difficult to locate the ruins as there are no actual signs leading to ruins. There are various sign boards along the way though that take you to various areas of the park. There is internal shuttle available as also, bikes.
Personally I found fuhai area to be the most serene and beautiful area of the park. It's covered in dense trees and opening leads to the lake. One can walk along side the lake or sit at a bench and enjoy the view. Changchun garden is beautiful. There is a lotus viewing area although to be frank, there were only handful of lotuses when I visited. Nevertheless its beautiful.
There is an exhibit of bronze statues which is some kind of testament to the origin of chinese zodiacs. One can take a quick look.
All in all beautiful place.
Jaeyoon Kim | May 30, 2018
Ruins but good historical lessons. This place is so big, so try to use a shuttle or a boat.
