Summer Palace

The Summer Palace or Yihe Garden was built by the Chinese Empress Cixi as a pavilion for quiet retreat. It is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. An imperial garden during the Qing dynasty, it includes Longevity Hill, Kunming Lake, and Seventeen Hole Bridge. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometres (1.1 sq mi), three-quarters of which is water.