Long Corridor
Painted beams.
Bjorn — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hermann Luyken — CC0 · Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China — CC0 · No machine-readable author provided. Markuserlandsson assumed (based on copyright claims). — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ana Paula Hirama — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Painjet — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jon Evans from Toronto, Canada — CC BY 2.0 · Fumihiko Ueno — CC BY 3.0
A vast Qing imperial garden in north-west Beijing covering 2.9 square kilometres, three-quarters of it water, closely linked with the Empress Dowager Cixi, who rebuilt it as a quiet retreat; it is a World Heritage Site. At its heart rises Longevity Hill, about 60 m high, its slope lined with palaces and pavilions in perfect harmony, and before it spreads the wide Kunming Lake, crossed by the Seventeen-Arch Bridge to a small island. Among its best-known sights are the Long Corridor, a covered walkway about 700 m long along the lakeshore with thousands of painted scenes on its beams, the famous Marble Boat and Suzhou Street, a recreated canal-side shopping street. Entry is CNY 30 and the through ticket CNY 60 from April to October and CNY 50 in winter, per visitor guides. Allow half a day; boats run on the lake in summer. Avoid the National Day holiday week, 1–7 October, when crowds are extreme.
Painted beams.
Over the lake.
A famous folly.
North-west Beijing
Entry plus most of the gardens and buildings inside, for CNY 60 from April to October and 50 in winter, per visitor guides.