Museum of Imperial Garden

Summer Palace was built in 1888 with fund set aside for China’s navy, as a place of leisure for Empress Dowager to enjoy her senior years.
Summer Palace is honored as a museum of royal gardens. The buildings are the architectural cream from all parts of China. The administrative and residential areas in the east of the palace are typical of the quadrangle in northern China; the lake area is an imitation of West Lake of Hangzhou; On the north side of Longevity Hill, the scene is that of Tibetan lamasery; and in the north, the Suzhou Market Street, with all kinds of shops and its crisscrossing watercourses. Here are the justifications of Summer Palace by World Heritage Committee:
1. The Summer Palace in Beijing is an outstanding expression of the creative art of Chinese landscape garden design, incorporating the works of humankind and nature in a harmonious whole.
2. The Summer Palace epitomizes the philosophy and practice of Chinese garden design, which played a key role in the development of this cultural form throughout the east.
3. The imperial Chinese garden, illustrated by the Summer Palace, is a potent symbol of one of the major world civilization.