Beijing's Top Sights - Beijing - page 326

tory and myths, as well as classic literary texts. Your neck will ache from all that staring
upwards, but the pain is worth it.
Longevity Hill
Rearing up by the side of Kūnmíng Lake and at the far end of the Long Corridor, the
slopes of this 60m-high hill are covered in temples and pavilions, all arranged on a
north-south axis. The most prominent and important are the Buddhist Fragrance Pavil-
ion OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Fóxiāng Gé) and the Cloud Dispelling Hall OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP
(Páiyún Diàn) , which are connected by corridors. Awaiting you at the peak of the hill is the
Buddhist Temple of the Sea of Wisdom OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Zhìhuì Hǎi) , featuring
glazed tiles (many sadly damaged) depicting Buddha. On a clear day, there are splendid
views of Běijīng from here.
West Causeway
A great way to escape the crowds who converge here is to strike out along the West
Causeway OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Xīdī) and then do a circuit of the lake by returning along
the east shore. The causeway is lined with delightful willow and mulberry trees, and along
the way you'll come across the grey and white marble Jade Belt Bridge OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE
MAP , which dates from the 18th century. There's also the graceful 17-Arch Bridge OFFLINE
MAP GOOGLE MAP , which links the east shore to South Lake Island.
Wénchāng Gallery
South of the main entrance, come to Wénchāng Gallery ( OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP ) to take at
look at Empress Cixi's hand-writing (some of her calligraphy is on display), as well por-
celain, bronzes and a jade gallery. Various other Qing-era artefacts are on show as well.
THE RISE & FALL & RISE OF THE SUMMER PALACE
It was Emperor Qianlong who created the Summer Palace, on the site of what had long been a royal garden. With the
same determination he displayed in expanding China's borders, Qianlong enlisted 100,000 workers in 1749 to enlarge
the gardens and deepen Kūnmíng Lake, while giving Longevity Hill its name in honour of his mother's 60th birthday.
Thankfully, Qianlong was long dead by the time British and French soldiers rampaged through the palace in 1860 at the
end of the Second Opium War. Apart from pillaging anything not nailed down, they trashed many of the temples and pa-
vilions. That left Empress Cixi to restore it to its former glory, only for foreign soldiers to return in 1900 in the wake of
the Boxer Rebellion. Not until after 1949 and the communist takeover was work begun to repair it.
The original name of the Summer Palace was the romantic, but not very regal, Garden of Clear Ripples. It was
Empress Cixi who redubbed it in 1888.