National Heritage Site: Old Summer Palace (Grade III).

The Old Summer Palace is a Grade III national heritage site from the Qing Dynasty. The Old Summer Palace was built in the 48th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign (1709) and was given to Prince Yinzhen. The emperors of the five dynasties from Yongzheng lived and governed here. During the Qianlong and Jiaqing emperors' reigns, the Old Summer Palace was expanded into the Yuanming, Changchun, and Qichun gardens. In the 10th year of the Xianfeng Emperor's reign (1860), the Old Summer Palace was looted and burned by the Anglo-French Allied Forces. The Old Summer Palace was known as the "Garden of Gardens" due to its garden art. The Western Mansions in the Changchun Garden were the largest Western-style buildings in the royal gardens of the Qing Dynasty. I visited the Old Summer Palace on the third day of the National Day holiday. I took the subway Line 4 from Xizhimen and found it crowded. When I arrived at the Old Summer Palace, I found it crowded with tourists. I bought a combo ticket online in advance. After entering the park, I followed the crowd to visit the Western Mansions. This is the most crowded place in the three gardens of the Old Summer Palace, especially the large fountain, which was the iconic building and was crowded with people. After visiting the Western Mansions, the park is large and the density of tourists drops sharply. However, apart from the foundations, there are basically no architectural remains, and you can only see the lotus leaves in the pond and the willows in the canal. The park is large and it takes half a day to stroll around. After walking around, I felt a lot. The Old Summer Palace is free for teenagers under 18 years old, and there are many families with children during the holiday. It's good for young people to come and see.