Located on the western edge of Beijing, the Summer Palace is a traditional Chinese garden that blends harmoniously with the Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. The palace covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water. It is a virtual museum of arts, trees, pavilions, halls, lakes, ponds, bridges, paths and other features unique to the Chinese landscape design. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List.

The Summer Palace's original construction started in the Jin Dynasty (1122-1161 CE.) The park obtained its present day appearance and name when the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) commissioned work on the imperial gardens on the hill in 1749.