The Beijing Summer Palace (pinyin: Yíhéyuán), is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in China. Mainly dominated by 60 metres (200 feet) Longevity Hill (万寿山; 萬壽山; Wànshòu Shān), the Summer Palace covers an expanse of 2.9 square km (1.1 sq mi), three-quarters of which is Kunming Lake (昆明湖; Kūnmíng Hú), entirely man-made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill.
In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value".
Around 1749, the Qianlong Emperor wanted to build a palace in the area around Jar Hill and the Western Lake to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing. Thus, in the name of improving the capital's waterworks system, he ordered the Western Lake to be expanded further to include Gaoshui and Yangshui Lake. The three lakes served as a water reservoir for the imperial gardens, and for agriculture in the surrounding areas. The Qianlong Emperor collectively named the three lakes "Kunming Lake" after the Kunming Pool (昆明池) built by Emperor Wu (r. 141–187 BCE) in the Han dynasty to train his navy. The construction was complete in 1764.
The design was based on a legend in Chinese mythology about three divine mountains in the East Sea. The centrepiece of the Summer Palace was the "Great Temple of Gratitude and Longevity" (大報恩延壽寺) and a 700m Long Corridor furnished with artistic decorations.
As the Qing Empire declined after the reign of the Daoguang Emperor (r. 1820–1850), the Summer Palace gradually became neglected and the architectural features on the three islands were ordered to be dismantled because the costs of maintenance were too high. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Palace

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Distance 7.72 km

Uphill 20 m

Downhill 20 m

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Location: China

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