Overview
The Qianlong Emperor enlarged it in the 1750s; Anglo-French troops burned it in 1860 and Empress Dowager Cixi rebuilt it in the 1880s, reportedly with navy funds. The Long Corridor runs 728 metres along the lake with painted scenes on every beam. In winter the lake freezes and the crowds thin, which is when the garden reads most clearly as a composed landscape.
Highlights
Enter at the East Palace Gate and leave by the north; boats cross the lake in summer. The Marble Boat, Cixi’s stone folly, and Suzhou Street, a recreated canal market, sit at the quiet north end. Climbing Longevity Hill to the Tower of Buddhist Incense gives the whole composition in one view.