Imperial Gardens had us sweating climbing to the top! The views were worth it!

This Imperial Garden was constructed in 1750 during the reign of Qing Emporor Qianlong. Lake Kunming and Hill of Longevity were used as the base framework for this beautiful area, which covers over 3 km². Around 75% of this land is taken up by the lake. However, the final odd 700,000m² has been filled with traditional temples, pavilions, halls, palaces, and bridges. The central feature being the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, which homes the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara and has the best panoramic views across the lake and city. We spent a couple of hours exploring the grounds and walked through the 'Long Corridor'. A 728m covered walkway that is home to over 14,000 paintings (the time-lapse isn't the whole thing 🤯) You can spend a long time exploring all of the Summer Palace but we only had a short amount of time, it would be great for a whole day!! With the afternoon getting on and the sun still baking down on us we headed back to our hotel. Not without a quick maccies stop off for a 50p ice cream cone and to enjoy the air-conditioning. #travel #china