Old Summer Palace

The Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) is a large imperial garden and palace complex in northwestern Beijing that served Qing dynasty emperors as a principal pleasure garden and research collection through the 18th and early 19th centuries.

The complex combined traditional Chinese garden planning with a series of lakes, canals, pavilions and palaces and later included European-style buildings known as the Xiyang Lou. The site is visited for its ruined architecture, lakeside remains and the visible traces of imperial landscaping.

The Old Summer Palace was constructed and expanded across the Qing period, with major building phases in the 18th century under emperors such as Qianlong. In 1860 the complex was looted and burned by Anglo-French forces during the Second Opium War, leaving large sections in ruin and dispersing many artifacts abroad.

The site is located in the Haidian District of Beijing, northwest of the Forbidden City and within the city’s outer urban area; the ruins and parkland are accessible by road and public transport from central Beijing.

• Destruction in 1860: Major destruction and looting took place in 1860 during the Second Opium War when Anglo-French forces burned and ransacked the complex, leaving much of it in ruins.
• Visiting note: Ruins of the European-style Xiyang Lou are among the most photographed features and offer clear sightlines across the ruined palace and lakes; visit times are typically shorter than for Beijing's major museums.

What to See #

• Xiyang Lou (Western Mansions): The Xiyang Lou or 'Western Mansions' are European-style palace ruins built in the 18th century and partially destroyed in 1860; their remains include ornate stonework and fragmented colonnades.
• Garden and palace ruins: The surviving imperial garden areas contain ruined pavilions, lake basins and fragments of palace architecture that outline the former layout of the complex.