Summer Palace (颐和园)

Classical garden · Beijing. Walk lakeside paths and imperial buildings around Kunming Lake.

Source: https://chinafootnotes.com/places/summer-palace · Data checked 2026-10-06 · Rendered for 2026-10-08 (Asia/Shanghai). Facts carry their status; "not found yet" means we searched and found no reliable source.

Notices in effect

• 2026-03-14 to 2026-11-15: Boats and ferries are running this season (opened 14 March 2026); the park stopped them for winter on 3 November last year, so check for the winter suspension notice at the end of October.

Why go

The Summer Palace (颐和园) is a large royal garden of Kunming Lake, Longevity Hill and palace buildings. A visit can be a lakeside walk, a climb toward the Tower of Buddhist Incense or a circuit of smaller ticketed areas. Its entrance ticket and combined ticket cover different things, and the inner sites shut earlier than the park.

What to do

• Walk Kunming Lake. Follow the lake shore for views back toward Longevity Hill (万寿山). The distance is substantial, so choose a few sections rather than assuming you can circle the whole lake quickly.
• See the inner sites. The Tower of Buddhist Incense (佛香阁), Dehe Garden (德和园), Suzhou Street (苏州街) and Palace Museum are listed as individually ticketed areas or part of the combined pass.
• Consider a boat. The operator lists 11 ferry routes at ¥30–40 one way, running mid-March to mid-November. Check the live boat notice and use a ferry as a shortcut rather than the only way across the lake.

• Don't miss: The park’s last gate entry is 19:00 peak but inner areas stop entry at 17:30.

• Best time: Half a day, starting in the morning
• Skip if: Skip if you have only an hour and want to see every inner site.

Practical details

• Hours: 06:00–20:00 peak · 06:30–19:00 winter
• Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 06:00–20:00, last entry 19:00
• Apr–Oct (04-01 to 10-31), Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 06:00–20:00, last entry 19:00
• Nov–Mar (11-01 to 03-31), Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 06:30–19:00, last entry 18:00
• Inner sites close Monday except major holidays, and stop entry at 17:30 peak or 16:30 winter.
• Admission: Ticketed · park ¥30/¥20; combined ¥60/¥50
• Park peak: ¥30 (Apr–Oct)
• Park winter: ¥20 (Nov–Mar)
• Combined peak: ¥60 (Apr–Oct)
• Combined winter: ¥50 (Nov–Mar)
• Tower of Buddhist Incense: ¥10
• Dehe Garden: ¥5
• Suzhou Street: ¥10
• Summer Palace Museum: ¥20
• Concession: Eligible visitors (half-price categories set by the park) ¥15 (Valid original document; ¥15 park ticket in April–October, ¥10 in winter (government English page))
• Boats are a separate service, not part of the listed combined ticket.
• Park ticket, combined ticket and each inner-site ticket are half price for eligible visitors; the park publishes the eligible groups separately.
• Ferries cost ¥30–40 one way (11 routes); self-drive electric boats ¥200 per hour with a ¥600 deposit.
• Booking: Book 1–7 days ahead; gate window takes passports
• Summer Palace official online ticketing (颐和园官方在线购票) — https://yhy.yidyou.cn/#/
• Visiting Beijing Parks (畅游公园) — https://www.bjgyol.com.cn · passport: yes
• Visiting Beijing Parks (畅游公园) — WeChat → search 畅游公园 → 预约购票 → 市属公园 · passport: yes
• Summer Palace (颐和园) — WeChat → search 颐和园 → official account (passport supported per the municipal English page) · passport: yes
• Passport accepted: yes — Beijing municipal guide explicitly supports passports and original-passport gate checks.
• The municipal English guide describes a timed online purchase with passport; the Summer Palace page says to buy at the comprehensive service window in the gate area with passports and also to book 1–7 days ahead on the official WeChat account. A universal advance-booking requirement is not stated.
• The operator's online ticketing page is the Chinese-language site yhy.yidyou.cn; its passport and foreign-phone handling has not been tested.
• Reddit: Same-day passport purchase at the service window (3 authors, 2026). Authors: Busy_Account_7974, SkyIDreamer, ricaa7. Does not change the operator or official value.
• The park told the 12345 hotline (Jun 2025) that online purchase needs a mainland mobile number and that foreign visitors can instead buy at the entrance service window with a passport.
• Last admission: Park 19:00 peak / 18:00 winter
• Time to allow: 3–5 hr
• Getting there: Line 4 Beigongmen · Lines 4/16 Xiyuan
• Metro Line 4 to Beigongmen (北宫门), about 3 min walk
• Metro Line 4/16 to Xiyuan (西苑), about 10 min walk
• Show a taxi driver: 颐和园北宫门，海淀区新建宫门路19号
• Operator lists Beigongmen (Line 4) for the North Gate and Xiyuan (Lines 4 and 16) for the East Gate, with car parks at the East, North, New Palace, South Ruyi and West gates.
• Exit D (Ket Sep 2025, updated Mar 2026; Jordan & Emily Mar 2025, updated Feb 2026) and Exit C2 (Ket; Panos Sep 2026, who does not say he visited) are named in blogs. The Beigongmen exit is not confirmed by 2 authors published within 12 months, so the exit field stays empty. Walk minutes are blog-reported (3 and 10).
• Foreign visitors: Passport purchase; 19-language audio guides

Not found yet

• transport.metro[0].exit: Operator names stations but no exit; Exit D appears in two blogs published more than 12 months before the research date (updated in 2026), so it is not set as a visitor-reported field. (searched: operator visit page, Beijing government English guide, English travel blogs, Qunar user post)
• transport.metro[1].exit: Operator names Xiyuan for the East Gate but no exit; Exit C2 is named by Ket (published more than 12 months earlier) and by Panos, who does not say he visited. (searched: operator visit page, Beijing government English guide, English travel blogs, Qunar user post)
• foreignVisitors.payment.foreignCard: No operator or government page says whether foreign cards work at the gate window or in the WeChat/Alipay ticket flow. (searched: operator pages, Beijing government English guide, English travel blogs)
• foreignVisitors.english.signage: The ticket site is bilingual but no source says whether the park has English signs. (searched: operator pages, Beijing government English guide, English travel blogs)

Traveler tips

• Pick the ticket by your route. A park ticket is ¥30 in April–October or ¥20 in winter. The combined ticket is ¥60 or ¥50 and includes the four inner sites. Bought one by one, they cost the Tower of Buddhist Incense ¥10, Suzhou Street ¥10, Dehe Garden ¥5 and the Summer Palace Museum ¥20, so in peak season the combined ticket (¥60) is cheaper than ¥30 plus all four (¥75). For a lakeside walk only, the park ticket is enough. Half-price tickets exist for eligible visitors. Caveat: The park's discount rules list the eligible groups; the English government page gives the discounted park ticket as ¥15 in April–October and ¥10 in winter. Inner-site prices are the operator's single listed amounts. source
• Use the English municipal portal. Beijing’s 畅游公园 ticket website has an English language switch and lists the Summer Palace. Choose your date, time period and ticket product, then save the electronic ticket QR code after payment. source
• Bring your passport to the gate. The municipal guide explicitly accepts passport or permanent-residence-permit details for foreign visitors. Carry the original document matching the e-ticket; the operator can request it along with the QR code. source
• Buy at the gate service window if you skipped online booking. The Beijing government English page tells passport holders to come to the park with their passports and use the comprehensive service window (综合服务窗口) in the park gate area to buy tickets. Keep the passport in hand for the purchase and again at the turnstile. Caveat: Ket (blog, Sep 2025, updated Mar 2026) wrote that the ticket office is an option but that queues in high season on weekends can be huge; NurseBoulder (Reddit, about June 2026) said they bought entry on site the previous week. Neither report says what a foreign visitor presented at the window; no source says whether the window sells out on a peak day. Pages by Ket, Jordan & Emily and Unusual Nomad carry affiliate links. (2 travelers) source
• Booking opens 1–7 days ahead, at 21:00 each night. On the official WeChat account, tickets can be booked 1–7 days before the visit date. A Beijing local-guide site says a new day goes on sale every night at 21:00. Pick a time slot, then bring the original document you booked with. Weekends and holidays fill first. Caveat: The 21:00 release time comes from a local-guide site's May 2026 article, not from the park's own page. Jordan & Emily (blog, updated Feb 2026) wrote that weekends and holidays book out quickly. Online booking needs a mainland mobile number; foreign visitors without one use the gate service window (12345 answer, Jun 2025). Pages by Ket, Jordan & Emily and Unusual Nomad carry affiliate links. source
• Online booking needs a mainland phone number; use the gate window. The Beijing Municipal Administration Center of Parks told the 12345 hotline in June 2025 that online purchase needs a Chinese mainland mobile number and foreign numbers are not currently supported; a foreign visitor can use the entrance service window with a passport and the staff-assisted booking service. Three English blogs describe mixed results online: Jordan & Emily booked in the official WeChat mini-program with passport details and paid with WeChat Pay; Ket's WeChat session kept freezing and logging her out, so she suggests a third-party platform; Panos says the online real-name check needs a mainland number. Caveat: Panos does not say he visited and attributes the rule to a municipal service line; a commenter under Jordan & Emily's post also reported phone-number validation problems. Third-party platforms add a surcharge, per Ket. Jordan & Emily's, Ket's and Unusual Nomad's pages carry affiliate links. Booking at the window needs no phone number per the 12345 answer. (2 travelers) source
• Scan the QR code, then your passport, at the turnstile. After online payment you receive a QR code in WeChat; take a screenshot. At the Summer Palace gate you go to the ticket turnstile, scan the code and show the original passport that matches the booking. No paper ticket is printed. Caveat: The municipal guide confirms QR scan plus a valid ID such as a passport; the paper-ticket detail comes from Jordan & Emily. Pages by Ket, Jordan & Emily and Unusual Nomad carry affiliate links. source
• Use an audio guide in your language. Audio-guide devices in 19 languages can be picked up at the East Palace Gate, North Palace Gate, North Ruyi Gate and New Palace Gate; the South Ruyi Gate only takes devices back. A smartphone guide is offered through the park's WeChat official account, and guides work in Chinese, English and Russian. Caveat: This page is dated January 2023; the operator's current English page does not list audio-guide details. source
• Visit inner sites early and not on Monday. The main park stays open into the evening, but the Tower of Buddhist Incense, Dehe Garden, Suzhou Street and the museum stop admitting visitors at 17:30 in April–October (16:30 in winter). Those four close on Mondays except major holidays, so on a Monday plan the lake and the hill paths instead, and on other days see the inner sites before mid-afternoon. Caveat: Ket (blog, updated Mar 2026) repeats the Monday closure for Suzhou Street, Dehe Garden and the Tower of Buddhist Incense. Pages by Ket, Jordan & Emily and Unusual Nomad carry affiliate links. source
• Choose an arrival side and a station exit. North Gate (北宫门): take Line 4 to Beigongmen (北宫门); Ket and Jordan & Emily both name Exit D, about 3 minutes' walk to the gate (turn left out of the station). East Gate (东宫门): take Line 4 or 16 to Xiyuan (西苑); Ket and Panos name Exit C2 and a 5–10 minute walk. 欣儿漫游 says Xiyuan also puts you a few minutes from the New Palace Gate (新建宫门), closer to the lake and the Seventeen-Arch Bridge. Pick the gate for your first stop. Caveat: The operator names the stations for each gate but no exit numbers. The Exit D and Exit C2 reports come from blogs published before the 12-month window or from a writer who does not say he visited, so the exits are tips only. Pages by Ket, Jordan & Emily and Unusual Nomad carry affiliate links. 鼓鼓的小书包 (Apr 2026) says it is about 700 m on foot from Beigongmen station to the North Ruyi Gate, and 诗诗不是你叫的 (Aug 2025) names Exit D and ten minutes to the Ruyi Gate; the 3-minute walk is to the North Palace Gate itself. (5 travelers) source
• Enter at one gate and leave by another. Ket entered at the North Gate and left through the East Gate, then walked about 10 minutes to Xiyuan station. Panos suggests the reverse: East Gate, Long Corridor, Marble Boat, Longevity Hill and the Tower of Buddhist Incense, then quieter western and northern paths to the North Gate. A one-way route saves walking back to where you started. Caveat: Two different directions; both start and end at different gates. Panos says to allow about 3 hours for his main route. Pages by Ket, Jordan & Emily and Unusual Nomad carry affiliate links. source
• Treat boats as a separate, seasonal ticket. The operator lists 11 ferry routes at ¥30–40 per person one way, from the Yulan Hall, Wenchang Pavilion and Bafang Pavilion piers and other landings; ferries run 08:30–17:30 from mid-March to mid-November and children under 1.2 m ride free with an adult. Self-drive electric boats cost ¥200 per hour with a ¥600 deposit; their ticket sales run 08:30–16:30 and they stop operating at 17:30. Everyone wears a life jacket. Caveat: Panos calls the ferry an optional scenic shortcut. 欣儿漫游 (May 2026) gives about ¥40–80 depending on boat type, a wider range than the operator's ferry fares; the boats are not part of the combined ticket. The park lists boat service as mid-March to mid-November and usually stops it in early November, so check for a winter suspension notice at the end of October. Pages by Ket, Jordan & Emily and Unusual Nomad carry affiliate links. source
• Allow half a day. Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill are spread across a large site. Ket spent over five hours and said it was not nearly enough; Panos says about three hours covers his main route and four to five with extras. Choose a lakeside segment and one or two inner attractions, then leave time to walk back to your exit gate. Caveat: Pages by Ket, Jordan & Emily and Unusual Nomad carry affiliate links. source
• Keep Yuanmingyuan separate. The Old Summer Palace (圆明园) is another park with its own entrance ticket. It is possible to pair the two, but budget separate admission and a transfer; the Summer Palace ticket does not cross-admit. source
• Walk-up works with a passport at the service window. Busy_Account_7974 (Jun 2026) bought tickets at the Summer Palace gate-area window by showing a passport, which was scanned at the booth; a face scan opened the turnstile. ricaa7 and SkyIDreamer (Sep 2026) say in general terms that tickets can be bought at the service window and directly at the sites. _Caveat: Only Busy_Account_7974 describes an actual purchase here; ricaa7's and SkyIDreamer's remarks are general and cover other sites too. This matches the municipal English page and the 12345 answer (Jun 2025). Comment dates on Reddit are the thread's post date._ (3 travelers) source
• Two hours covers the east gate to the hill. Todd_H_1982 estimates that entering at the East Gate, crossing the palace area and the hill and coming back through Suzhou Street could be done in about two hours if you are in a hurry. Davincier visited 09:30–14:30 and covered only the east and north parts without walking around the lake. _Caveat: Todd_H_1982's two hours is an estimate for a hurried visit, not a measured one; Davincier's visit was 5 hours. Comment dates on Reddit are the thread's post date._ (2 travelers) source
• The boat ride saves the walk back. A visitor found the lake boat ride peaceful and a way to save the walk back to the entrance. Caveat: Comment dates on Reddit are the thread's post date. source
• Enter by the North Ruyi Gate, not the North Palace Gate. 阿🐷 (Oct 2025) and 诗诗不是你叫的 (Aug 2025) enter by the North Ruyi Gate (北如意门), a few minutes' walk from the North Palace Gate: it is much quieter and avoids the immediate climb that the North Palace Gate leads to. 鼓鼓的小书包 (Apr 2026) walked about 700 m from Beigongmen station along the shaded road to the Ruyi Gate. Their three-hour route runs through Huazhong You (画中游), the Long Corridor, the Tower of Buddhist Incense, Leshou Hall, Yulan Hall, Renshou Hall, Zhichun Pavilion, the Bronze Ox and the Seventeen-Arch Bridge to Nanhu Island and out of the New Palace Gate. 阿🐷 says the park ticket is enough for it. 一只小白吖 (Apr 2026) posts the same route and ticket advice. Caveat: 阿🐷 says the Huazhong You photo spot can take about two hours to queue on holidays. Commenters (anonymous) found the route easy for older relatives if the Tower of Buddhist Incense is skipped and an anonymous commenter says the reverse direction (North Gate in, boat to the Seventeen-Arch Bridge) is all downhill. 一只小白吖's post repeats 阿🐷's route almost word for word and ends with brand promotions, so it is counted as commercial. (3 travelers) source
• Self-drive electric boats: board early at Wenchang Pavilion. 谁还没瘦 (May 2026) entered by the New Palace Gate at about 09:30, walked right for about 15 minutes to the Wenchang Pavilion pier (there are three piers: Yulan Hall, Bafang Pavilion and Wenchang Pavilion), and boarded at 09:53 with no queue. A six-seat boat costs ¥200 an hour with a ¥600 deposit paid in full, the fee is taken from it and each 20 minutes over costs ¥50; the boat steers itself on a route and you only avoid other boats, and it must be returned to the same pier. The author recommends Wenchang Pavilion because the long corridor, the Tower of Buddhist Incense and Huazhong You are close after landing. Caveat: One author on a calm Sunday; a commenter (anonymous) says one circuit takes about an hour. Whether boats are shared by strangers was not answered. source
• Ferry rides are short. 鼓鼓的小书包 (Apr 2026) took the ¥30 ferry from Yudai Bridge to Nanhu Island in about 15 minutes with a view of the Tower of Buddhist Incense, and 魔法少女岳云鹏 (Apr 2025) found a ferry from Suzhou Street to the east gate so short that 7 minutes was not enough to look around. Caveat: Two single reports; the operator lists the ferry fares at ¥30–40. (2 travelers) source
• Strong wind can stop all boats at once. 扎老师 (Jul 2026) was on Nanhu Island when an announcement said all boats were suspended because of strong wind; the boat that had brought them over was the last, so the author crossed the Seventeen-Arch Bridge and walked a little over an hour round the lake to get back. Caveat: A single summer afternoon, told as a story; the operator's wind-suspension rule was not read. Check the sky before taking a one-way ferry to the island. source
• Royal river cruise from the Beijing Zoo pier. 嘻哈宝莱 (Mar 2026) says the royal canal boat runs from the Beijing Zoo pier, with departures at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 13:30, 14:30 and 15:30 from mid-March to late October or early November, and Cmaj7-L (Sep 2026) boarded at Zizhuyuan Park and sailed into the Summer Palace, then walked the Seventeen-Arch Bridge, the Long Corridor and the North Gate half of the park. Caveat: The timetable is in the author's own reply; no fare or landing gate was given, and the season depends on the weather. Cmaj7-L's mother was exhausted by the walk, so plan a shorter route for older relatives. (2 travelers) source
• Wild peach blossoms at Jiqing Xuan in late March. momo📷 (Mar 2026) photographed the wild peach blossoms at Jiqing Xuan (霁清轩) from the East Palace Gate through the Garden of Harmonious Interests and up the north stairs, around 17:00 as the park was closing; commenters say the spot was very crowded on a Sunday. Caveat: Bloom dates move each year; one author. source

Sources

• Summer Palace Administration
• Beijing Municipal Landscaping Bureau (published 2023-12-25)
• Beijing Municipal Government
• NurseBoulder
• Summer Palace Administration
• Summer Palace Administration
• Summer Palace Administration
• Beijing Municipal Government (published 2026-03-20)
• Beijing Municipal Government (published 2023-01-11)
• Beijing Bendibao (北京本地宝) (published 2026-04-23)
• Ket (Hit the Road Ket) (published 2025-09-18)
• Jordan & Emily (published 2025-03-01)
• Panos (Unusual Nomad) (published 2026-09-21)
• 欣儿漫游 (published 2026-05-21)
• NoahSutherland
• Davincier (published 2025-10-19)
• Todd_H_1982 (published 2025-10-19)
• Busy_Account_7974 (published 2026-06-24)
• Turbulent-Artist961 (published 2026-09-18)
• SkyIDreamer (published 2026-09-23)
• ricaa7 (published 2026-09-23)
• Beijing Municipal Administration Center of Parks (via 12345 hotline) (published 2025-06-20)
• Beijing Municipal Administration Center of Parks (via 12345 hotline) (published 2025-06-20)
• 阿🐷 (published 2025-10-17)
• 一只小白吖🎀 (published 2026-04-09)
• 诗诗不是你叫的 (published 2025-08-24)
• 鼓鼓的小书包🎒 (published 2026-04-18)
• 谁还没瘦 (published 2026-05-10)
• 魔法少女岳云鹏 (published 2025-04-20)
• 扎老师 (published 2026-07-14)
• 嘻哈宝莱 (published 2026-03-19)
• Cmaj7-L (published 2026-09-09)
• momo📷 (published 2026-03-24)

More places

• Pair with: Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan)
• More in Big days out: Universal Beijing Resort, Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan)