the summer palace
good morning ladies and gentlemen:
my name is joanne. i’m very honored to be youre guide. i do hope all
of you could like my guiding and enjoy everything on your pleasant
day. this morning we are going to visit the summer palace.
the summer palace is located on the northwest suburbs of beijing,
about 20 kilometers away from the center of the city. so it will
take us about 1 hour to get there. before we arrived at the summer
palace, i would like to introduce you a brief introduction of the
woderful imperial garden. the summer palace is the most beautiful
and the largest imperial garden existing in chinan, and it is the
best-preserved imperial garden in the world. in 1998, it was placed
on the list of world cultural heritage by the unesco.
the summer palace was first built as an imperial garden at the
beginning of 12th century in the jin dynasty. the construction
continued to the yuan and ming dynasties. in the qing dynasty, the
building of imperial gardens reached its culmination. during emperor
qianlong’s reign, the famous ‘three hills and five gardens’ were
built on the northwest suburbs of beijing. the summer palace was a
part of it and at that time was called the garden of clear ripples.
in 1860, the anglo-french allied forces invaded beijing. the ‘three
hills and five gardens’ were burnt down to ashes.
in 1888, the empress dowager cixi spent the navy fund having the
garden of clear ripples rebuilt. and then she renamed it the garden
of nurtured harmony (summer palace).
in 1900, the allied forces of eight powers invaded beijing. the
summer palace was once again severely damaged. it was rebuilt again
in 1902.
in 1924, the last emperor puyi was driven out of the palace, after
that, the summer palace was turned into a public park.
ladies and gentlemen, please look over there, in front of us is an
archway. it is called “emptiness and the collection of excellence”,
and it is the first scenery of the summer palace. the two chinese
words on the front side of the archway mean emptiness and refer to
everything in nature and in the scenery. the two words on the back
side mean collection of excellence and refer to the tranquility of
the beautiful scenery just within the garden.
(outside the east palace gate)
now, we have arrived at the east palace gate. it’s the main entrance
of the summer palace. on top of the gate there is a plaque with
three chinese characters ‘the summer palace’ in emperor guangxu’s
handwriting. the gate that we are now entering was used by the
emperor, the empress only in the old days.
(inside the east palace gate)
now we are inside the summer palace. in front of us is the second
gate of the summer palace— the gate of benevolence and longevity.
the annex halls on both sides were used for officials on duty and
the offices of the privy council. well, before we start our tour in
the garden, i will briefly introduce you the layout of the summer
palace and our tour route. o.k., ladies and gentlemen, may i have
your attention please? let’s look at the map together, from it we
can see the summer palace covers an area of 290 hectares, which the
lake occupies the three-fourths. the whole garden can be divide into
three parts: the area was for political activities, resting places
of the emperor and empress, and sightseeing areas. our tour will
start from the area of the political activities, and end off the
marble boat. on the way, we will visit the main constructions of the
summer palace, such as the hall of jade ripples, the hall of
happiness and longevity, the long corridor, the hall of dispelling
clouds and so on. it will take us about two hours to visit the
summer palace. please attention, we won’t walk back and our driver
will pick us up at the north gate. should you get lost or separated
from the group, please meet us at the north gate.
ok, everyone, let’s start our tour from the emperors’ office --- the
hall of benevolence and longevity. follow me please.
(inside the courtyard of the benevolence and longevity)
passing through the gate of benevolence and longevity, we have
already entered the courtyard of the hall of benevolence and
longevity. the huge rock in front of us is taihu rock. it was
quarried from taihu lake in jiangsu province, so it was known as
taihu rock. please look around the courtyard and you can see there
are four grotesque shaped rocks placed in each corner of this
courtyard, representing the four seasons of the year. the taihu
rocks are usually used as decoration for beautifying gardens and
they are thin, crease, leak and penetration in characters.
the bronze mythical animal behind the taihu rock is known as suanni
or some people call it qilin. according to ancient chinese
mythology, the dragon had nine sons, but none of them became a real
dragon. suanni was one of the nine sons of the dragon. it was an
auspicious animal that could avoid evil spirits in ancient lengeds.
suanni has the head of dragon, the antlers of dear, the hooves of ox
and the tail of lion.
(in front of the hall of benevolence and longevity)
this grand hall is the hall of benevolence and longevity. it was
first built in 1750. the name of this hall taken from a book
entitled ‘lun yu’ by confucius doctrine means, “ those who are
benevolent can enjoy a long life.” this hall was the place where
emperor guangxu and empress dowager cixi held audience and handled
state affairs when they were in the summer palace. for protecting
the historical cultural relic, we couldn’t enter the hall. so i
would like to briefly introduce you the decorations in the hall of
benevolence and longevity. the arrangement of the hall has been left
untouched. in the middle of the hall stands an emperor’s throne
carved with nine dragons on design. there are two big fans on both
sides behind the throne which are made of peacock feathers. behind
the throne there is a big screen with red sandalwood frame
and glass mirror inlaid. on the mirror there are 226 chinese
characters of the word ‘longevity’ written in different styles.
there are two scrolls on each side of the wall with a big chinese
character ‘longevity’ written on it. it was said that the word
‘longevity’ written by empress dowager cixi. there are 100 bats
painted at the background of the scroll symbolizing happiness.
well, please look up the two pairs of incense burners in the shape
of a dragon and a phoenix in front of the hall. they were used to
burn incense sticks to create the appropriate atmosphere. in the old
days, the dragon and phoenix were the symbol of the emperor and
empress. according to ritual, the dragons should be placed in the
center while phoenixes were to either side in front of the hall.
however, here, the dragons are off to the sides and the phoenixes
are in the middle. this was a product of the end of qing dynasty
when empress dowager cixi handled state affairs behind the screen.
(at the entrance of garden of virtuour harmony)
we are now visiting the garden of virtuous harmony, where emperor
qianlong and empress dowager cixi were entertained with bejing opera
performances. it mainly consists of the dressing house, the grand
theater building and the hall of pleasure smile. the grand theater
building was known as the ‘cradle of beijing opera’ was uniquely
laid out and magnificently decorated. there are 7 exhibition halls
with articles of daily use on display here.
(in front of the grand theater building)
this is the grand theater building. of the three main theater
buildings of the qing dynasty, the grand theater building is the
tallest and largest one. the other two are changyin pavilion in the
forbidden city and qingyin pavilion in the mountain resort in
chengde. the grand theater building, a three-storied structure, has
a double roof with upturned eaves. it is 21 meters high and 17
meters wide. performances could be staged simultaneously on three
levels. the top one was a symbol of happiness, the middle level was
emolument level and the bottom stage was named longevity stage. each
level has the entrance and the exit. there are some trapdoors in the
ceiling and below the floor for ‘celestial being’ to fly down from
the sky and the ‘devils’ to appear from the earth to set off a
certain atmosphere on the stage. there is also a well and five ponds
built under the stage for a good effect of water scenes. the stage
is open to three sides.
well, please look at the construction that stands right opposite the
grand theater building, it’s the hall of pleasure smile. the empress
dowager cixi used bo sit inside the hall to watch and enjoy the
peking opera.
(a lakeside walk from the garden of virtuous harmony to the hall of
jade ripples)
we are now standing in the middle of a rockery behind the hall of
benevolence and longevity. it appears that there’s nothing special
ahead. however, after we clear the rockery, we will reach kunming
lake. this is an application of a specific style of chinese
gardening.
now, we are walking along the bank of the kunming lake. look over
there, not far away in the lake there is an islet. it’s called the
spring heralding islet. the pavilion on the islet is called the
spring heralding pavilion. a number of willow trees and peach trees
were planted on this islet. in early spring, when the ice begins to
melt, peach trees are red in pink blossoms, willow trees turn a
tender green signaling that the early spring has returned. hence the
name ‘heralding sping pavilion’.
(in front of the hall of jade ripples)
this group of special and quiet courtyard dwellings is the hall of
jade ripples. the words “jade ripples” came from a verse “gentle
ripples gushing out of jade spring”, which refers to the rippling
water in the lake. it was first used by emperor qianlong to attend
to state affairs. in the late qing dynasty, it was where emperor
guangxu was put under house arrest.
this hall is a hallmark of the movement of 1898. emperor guangxu was
emperor dowager cixi’s nephew. after emperor tongzhi died, emperor
dowager cixi made her nephew, who was at that time four years old a
successor in order to continue her hold on imperial power. she
‘handled state affairs behind the screen’. after emperor guangxu
‘managed state affairs personally’ at the age of 19, a political
conflict occurred between the conservatives and the reformers. in
1898, the reform movement took place with the aim of sustaining the
core principles of the qing dynasty while reforming outdated laws.
the movement lasted for103 days until it was suppressed by empress
dowager cixi. it was called the ‘hundred-day reform’. after the
reform failed, emperor guangxu was put under house arrest here. for
the strict control of him, empress dowager cixi ordered to build
many brick walls in the front, back, and on the right and left of
the hall of jade ripples. at that time the hall was entirely sealed
up, just like a prison. today only the hidden walls in the east and
west annex room still maintain its original appearance. it is open
to visitors as the relic related to the 1898 reform movement.
(in front of the chamber of collecting books)
this is the chamber of collecting books. in chinese, it’s called “yi
yun guang”. “yun” was a kind of fragrant weed. in ancient times, it
was usually used as termite repellent in rooms where books were
stored.in the emperor qianlong’s reign, the purpose of the hall was
for collecting books. later it was converted into a residence. there
used to be the residence of guangxu’s empress longyu, and his
favorite concubine zhenfei.
(in the hall of happiness and longevity)
this group of courtyard is the hall of happiness and longevity. it
was the major architectural structure in the living quarters and the
residence of empress dowager cixi. the whole compound was basically
made of wood, which is ideal for ventilation and lighting. with its
quiet and tasteful layout, the hall of happiness and longevity made
life very easy and convenient. in front of the hall of happiness and
longevity there is a huge rock placed in the middle of this
courtyard named “qing zhi xiu” and nicknamed as “family bankruptcy
rock”. this huge rock was discovered in fangshan district by a ming
official mi wanzhong. he wanted to transport it to his own garden
“shaoyuan”. in the old days, transporting such rock was very
difficult. after spending all his money to ship it, he still could
not succeed in doing this. the big rock was then left on the
roadside somewhere near liangxiang county, 30 kilometers southwest
of beijing. hence it was nicknamed “family bancruptcy rock”. later
emperor qianlong discovered it and transported to the garden of
clear ripples and laid in front of the hall of happiness and
longevity. the colorful glass chandeliers hanging inside the hall
was introduced from germany in 1903. it is one of the earliest
electric lights in china.
(in front of the gate of inviting the moon of the long corridor)
ladies and gentlemen, you may have visited some of the best museums
in the world, such as the louvre in france and the museum of great
britain. now i will show you a special gallery in the palace—the
long corridor. in 1990, the long corridor was listed in the guinness
book of world records as ‘the longest painted corridor’ in the
world’. it would be a pity if we leave the summer palace without
visiting the long corridor and the marble boat. now, here we go, the
long corridor first!
(strolling along the long corridor)
the long corridor starts from the gate inviting the moon to the
shizhang gate. it is 728 meters long and consists of 273 sections.
the long corridor is one of the major structures of the summer
palace. since the corridor was designed to follow the physical
features of the southern slope of longevity hill, four
multiple-eaved, octagonal pavilions ( retaining the goodness
pavilion, living with the ripples pavilion, autumn water pavilion,
clear and far pavilion) were placed at bends and undulation, they
represent four seaons of a year. thus visitors will hardly notice
the rise and fall of the terrain. as a major part of the
architectural style of the summer palace, the long corridor serves
as an ingenious connector between the lake and the hill. scattered
buildings on the southern slope were linked to create a unified
complex.
the long corridor is the longest covered veranda in any chinese
garden. on the purlins and beams of the covered veranda, there are
over 14,000 suzhou style paintings. among them, there are 546 color
paintings relating to the scenes of west lake in hangzhou, zhejiang
province. beside the colorful paintings of natural scenery, there
are also scenes of flowers, birds, fish, insects, mythology and
figures. the paintings of figures are mainly adapted from ancient
chinese classical literature, such as ‘pilgrimage to the west’, ‘the
romance of the three kingdoms’, ‘the western chamber’, “water
margin’, and ‘the dream of the red mansion’.
(in front of the gate of dispelling clouds)
now we are approaching the central part of the structures on the
lakeside slope, the tower of buddhist incense within the hall of
dispelling clouds. the central axis line starts from the wharf next
to the lake to the sea of wisdom on top of the hill. the main
architectural structures here are the gate of dispelling clouds,
hall of dispelling clouds, tower of buddhist incense and the sea of
wisdom, which altogether form a splendid three-dimensional
landscape. the layout of this group of architectures was based on
scenes described in buddhist sutras. this group of structures are
among the most magnificently constructed here in the summer palace.
this is a good place to taking photos, we will stay here for about
15 minutes.
now we are walking continuely along the long corridor, the next
scene we are going to visit is marble boat.
look over there! halfway up the slope there stands the hall of
listening to orioles. it was the place for emperor and empress to
enjoy opera and court music. it is said the singing of orioles is
very pleasing. before the garden of virtuous harmony was built,
empress dowager cixi enjoyed opera and music here. now the hall is
one of the most famous restaurants in china, featuring imperial
dishes and desserts.
this is the famous marble boat. a famous scientist of china’s
eastern han dynasty once said, “water can float the boat, but it can
also tip it over.” a prime minister of tang dynasty wei zheng once
used these words to persuade li shimin, the emperor of the tang
dynasty. he said people are water and the emperor is the boat.
people can support a good emperor. however, they also can overthrow
the dynasty. emperor qianlong built this huge boat in the garden in
order to make the allusion concrete. on one hand, emperor qianlong
encouraged himself to run the country well. on the other hand, he
wanted to show that his rule of the qing dynasty was as firm as the
marble boat and there was no fear of overturning the boat. the
marble boat was the place for emperor qianlong to sample tea and
enjoy the scenery of kunming lake. emperor qianlong once came here
to engage in the freeing of captive animals. in the times of
qianlong, the marble boat was a chinese styled stone boat with a
chinese style wooden superstructure on the top of it. when it was
rebuilt in the times of guangxu, a foreign and chinese elements
mixed resulting in two wheels to be added to the boat, one on each
side. the floor was paved with colored bricks. all of the windows
were inlaid with multiple-colored glass. a big mirror was installed
on the superstructure for viewing rain.
our tour is drawing to a close after we visited the marble boat.
today we only visited the major scenic spots of the summer palace. i
have left other spots of interest for your next visit.
i will now show you out through the ruyi gate. our coach is waiting
for us outside the gate. i do hope you enjoyed today’s tour. thank
you.