kunming lake

kunming lake of summer palace

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The temple consists of Yeluchucai’s coffin chamber, memorial halls and his stature. These were pulled down during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), but have since been restored.

In addition, a tablet bearing an inscription in the handwriting of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) of the Qing Dynasty has been erected. A stone statue placed near the tomb in the court is a relic from the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) unearthed in 1979. It is thought to date from the time when Kublai Khan (1215-1294), the grandson of Genghis Khan, built the temple.

According to the original plan for the Garden of Clear Ripple (former name of the Summer Palace), a tower of nine storeys was built on the site of the present building. The tower was designed after the famous Liuhe (Six Harmony) Tower in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. During the construction, Emperor Qianlong had inspected the construction site frequently, and wrote several poems extolling the beautiful landscapes and the rising tower.  But when the eighth storey of the tower was finished, just before the completion of the whole tower, some of the designers argued over its design. They held that the original plan was effective only in the drawing. The nearly constructed tower did not suit the surrounding hills and lakes or its position on the top of the Longevity Hill. These designers suggested that the high and thin structure be demolished and replaced by a more imposing building. The Emperor accepted their suggestion and the Tower of Buddhist Incense was constructed instead. The results were generally acclaimed. The new building suits its setting far better than a tall, thin tower would have. And Longevity Hill appears much grander.

To the west is Baoyunge (Precious Cloud Pavilion), a pavilion made of bronze, 207 tons in weight. Inside is a bronze table weighing more than 2 tons.  All its windows were stolen by the Allied Forces of the eight powers. The Japanese aggressors took the bronze table to Tianjin, trying to ship it to Japan. After the war, it was sent back to Beijing.

Temple of the Dragon King

Standing in front of the main building in the island, Emperor Qianlong used to review his navy training in the lake. The building is known as the Temple of the Dragon King. The 17-Arch Bridge, 150metres long, was built after the design of Marco Polo Bridge. It has 544 carved lions in different postures. Seen from a distance, it looks like a rainbow hanging across the water.

After liberation, Fu Zuoyi was subsequently a Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Vice-Chairman of the National Defence Council and Minister of Water Conservancy and Power. He died of illness in 1974.

Archway

Memorial archway which was repaired and renovated in 1987. On each side of the memorial archway at the east gate of the Summer Palace is an inscription. The one facing the east is “Han Xu”, which means containing emptiness.  One meaning of emptiness is water scenery. Therefore, the name tells people that the main scenery in the Summer Palace is a lake.  Another meaning is modesty.  Chinese people like to modify noble moral character as “to have a mind as open as a valley.” Water is almost equal to a mirror, which can reflect things as they are. The Emperors used this to liken their rule to a clear mirror, which is just and objective. On the west side (reverse side) of the archway is “Yan Xiu,” which means “collecting excellence.” It refers to collecting the most excellent scenery and beauty of ancient and modern times. It also means gathering people of the most extraordinary abilities.

Marble Boat

Marble Boat was first built in 1750. Formerly there was a Chinese-style wooden superstructure on the top of it. In 1860, it was burned down by the Anglo-French forces. In 1893, a foreign-style superstructure and two wheelers, one on each side, were added to the boat. It was named the Boat for Pure Banquets.

The body, 36 metres long, is built of marble. The superstructure is made of wood, but painted to look like marble. The floor is paved with coloured bricks. All the windows are inlaid with multi-coloured glass. There is a drainage system to let rain water flow down through the four hollow concrete pillars and into the lake by the mouths of the dragon heads.

The boat was used for enjoying the lake scenery to be a symbol of stability of the Qing Dynasty.

Summer Palace Long Corridor

Long Corridor is one of the most famous garden landscapes in China. It is 728 metres long with 273 sections. The beams of the corridor are painted with more than 8,000 paintings. Some of them are birds and flowers and landscapes of the West Lake in Hangzhou. Others are scenes from literary classics. The Long Corridor was restored in 1959 and retouched in 1979.

The corridor between the Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake is al-ways crowded and is hard to keep clean. The park management has made it a special sanitation district. Twenty sanitation workers are busy on this road all day long. There are 100 sanitation workers in the whole park

In the middle of the garden there is a pond occupying half an acre of land. In the pond there are fish and lotuses. Fish and flowers in the pond, weeping willows along the banks, artificial rockeries by the side of the paths, green pines on the mounds and water pavilions form distinctively different paintings. They ingeniously make up the garden within the garden.