The Summer Palace in Beijing 北京颐和园

北京颐和园始建于公元1750年，1860年在战火中严重损毁，1886年在原址上重新进行了修缮。其亭台、长廊、殿堂、庙宇和小桥等人工景观与自然山峦和开阔的湖面相互和谐、艺术地融为一体，堪称中国风景园林设计中的杰作。
First built in 1750 A. D., the Summer Palace in Beijing was enormously ruined during the war in 1860 and was renovated on its original site in 1886. The artificial landscapes including terraces, corridors, halls, temples and bridges and the natural hills and vast lakes make up an artistic whole of perfect harmony, ranking a masterpiece of China landscape and garden design.
颐和园是世界著名的皇家园林，它地处北京西北郊外，距京城约15公里，旧称"清漪园"。1888年重建，改名"颐和园"，耗银3000万两，历时十年。颐和园规模宏大，占地面积达293公顷，主要由万寿山和昆明湖两部分组成。各种形式的宫殿园林建筑3000余间，大致可分为行政、生活、游览三个部分。
The Summer Palace is world-famous royal garden located in outskirt in the northwest of Beijing (about 15km away from the capital). Formerly known as the Garden of Clear Ripple, it was reconstructed in 1888 and renamed into Summer Palace, the project lasting 10 years with total expenditure being 30 million taels of silver. It occupies an area of 293 hectares and is mainly composed of the Longevity Mountain and Kunming Lake. There are over 3,000 units of various palace and garden construction covering the three aspects of administration, living and sightseeing.
以仁寿殿为中心的行政区，是当年慈禧太后和光绪皇帝坐朝听政，会见外宾的地方。仁寿殿后是三座大型四合院：乐寿堂、玉澜堂和宜芸馆，分别为慈禧、光绪和后妃们居住的地方。宜芸馆东侧的德和园大戏楼是清代三大戏楼之一。
The administrative area with the Palace of Benevolence and Longevity as center was wher Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu were sitting for hearing reports and discussion as well as receiving foreign visitors. The Palace of Benevolence and Longevity is a complex of three, large single-story houses: the Hall of Joy and Longevity, the Hall of Jade Wave, and the Yiyun House, which are living quarters of Empress Dowager Cixi, Emperor Guangxu and the queen and concubines. The grand opera tower Garden of Virtue and Harmony on the east side of the Yiyun House is one of the three opera houses of Qing Dynasty.
颐和园自万寿山顶的智慧海向下，由佛香阁、德辉殿、排云殿、排云门、云辉玉宇坊，构成了一条层次分明的中轴线。山下是一条长700多米的"长廊"，长廊枋梁上有彩画8000多幅，号称"世界第一廊"。长廊之前即是碧波荡漾的昆明湖。昆明湖的西堤是仿照西湖的苏堤建造的。
From the top of Longevity Mountain down to the Sea of Wisdom, the Summer Palace has a distinct central axis comprising Tower of Buddhist Incense, Hall of Virtue, Hall of Cloud and the House of Jade Roof. At the foot of the mountain, there is a 700-meter passage, with 8,000 paintings on the beam, which is known as the worlds' first passage. Before the passage is the Kunming Lake noted for its clear water and rolling ripples. The west dam of the lake was constructed after that of the famed West Lake.
万寿山后山、后湖古木成林，环境幽雅，有藏式寺庙，苏州河古买卖街。后湖东端有仿无锡寄畅园而建的谐趣园，小巧玲珑，被称为"园中之园"。
Behind the Longevity Mountain and around the Back Lake is a heavily-wooden tract with a Tibetan temple, and the antique fair of Soochow River, which together render it a graceful place of peace and quiet. On the east end of the Back Lake, there lays the Garden of Amusement constructed in imitation of the Jichang Garden in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.
颐和园整个园林艺术构思巧妙，在中外园林艺术史上地位显著，是举世罕见的园林艺术杰作。
Original and ingenious in overall landscape design, the Summer Palace is also distinct in the history of garden art both at home and abroad, ranking a rare masterpiece in the world.