Summer Palace: tickets, entrances and visiting tips

The Summer Palace, 颐和园 / Yiheyuan, is a large garden and lakeside complex in Beijing. Choose your entrance and the sights you most want to see before you go: the grounds are much bigger than a single palace building.

Which entrance should you use?

Beijing’s official guide lists several entrances and nearby transport:

• East Palace Gate: Xiyuan station on Metro Line 4.
• North Palace Gate: Beigongmen station on Metro Line 4.
• West Gate: the Xijiao line.

Pick an entrance that suits the area you want to explore, then check the walk from the station in your map app. Save the gate name as well as the attraction name.

Tickets and opening hours

The official visitor guide distinguishes basic park admission from a combined ticket and separately ticketed sights. Decide whether you mainly want to walk through the gardens or visit particular buildings, then check what your ticket covers.

The park and individual buildings have different opening hours. Use the current official notice for your visit date, especially if you’re arriving later in the day. Check boat services separately if you want to go on the lake.

If you can’t book online

A June 2025 reply from Beijing’s official 12345 service said the park’s online channel required a mainland mobile number at that time. It also described help with buying tickets at an entrance service window using a passport or another accepted document.

Check the park’s latest booking instructions first. If you can’t use the online system, ask the official service window about your options. Availability and account requirements may have changed since that reply.

What to see on a first visit

Choose a part of the garden you’d like to explore and leave time for a lakeside walk. Trying to cover every named sight can mean spending the day crossing the grounds rather than enjoying them.

Allow for breaks and the journey to your exit. If you’d like a boat ride, check the weather, current services and the extra cost before adding it to your plan.

Places to look for on the map

The city’s visitor guide divides the Summer Palace into the palace area, Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. These names help when choosing a route:

• Kunming Lake (昆明湖): the main lake, with walking routes and views across the garden.
• Longevity Hill (万寿山): the hill behind the lake, with several major buildings.
• Tower of Buddhist Incense (佛香阁): one of the main landmarks on the hill. Check whether your ticket covers it.
• Seventeen-Arch Bridge (十七孔桥): a bridge leading to South Lake Island, shown in the city’s visitor photos.

Choose which area matters most to you before picking an entrance. A lakeside walk and a route up the hill involve different amounts of climbing.

How to fit it into your Beijing trip

Give the Summer Palace the main part of a sightseeing day rather than squeezing it between other large attractions. Bring your ticket details, identity document and a backup way to pay, and save the route back to your accommodation.