The Pavilion of Buddhist Fragrance, with the Temple of the Sea of Wisdom behind it, at the Summer Palace, as seen from Kunming Lake.  My previous visit to the Summer Palace covers much of its history, so I will say little about that here; this trip was to view the magnificent spring flora.

While tourists tend to walk only the northern edge of Kunming Lake - through the Long Corridor below the Pavilion of Buddhist Fragrance - some of the best views of flora at the Summer Palace are along the paths behind the hall, up on Longevity Hill; it’s a bit of a climb, but well worth it.  This is winter jasmine growing alongside one of those paths.

At full bloom, the pink peach blossoms completely cover the branches of this bush.  In spring, the pathways of Longevity Hill are rich with peach blossoms.

Another tree blossoms on Longevity Hill.

A grove of winter jasmine.

Back down on the lake, magnolias bloom near the Long Corridor.

The famed Marble Boat at the Summer Palace, with the Pavilion of Buddhist Fragrance and Longevity Hill in the background.  Rather than build up China’s navy after Western forces began overrunning the country in the late 1800’s, Empress Dowager Cixi used the funds to restore the Summer Palace instead, building this very non-military vessel and earning the wrath of Chinese tour guide books ever since.

Winter jasmine.

A Yulan magnolia tree blossoms before a pavillion near the Long Corridor.

More peach blossoms, in the northwest corner of the palace grounds.

The Seventeen Arch Bridge as seen from the water.  Visitors to the Summer Palace who are not part of a tour group should definitely rent a motorized boat for an hour and travel along the perimeter of Kunming Lake, as doing so presents many wonderful views of the palace grounds.  I wouldn’t recommend a rowboat, as the lake is quite huge.

Just inside the east entrance to the Summer Palace, a bit north of the main tourist path, is a small secluded courtyard with some of the best magnolias at the palace; the following photographs were taken there.

A magnolia blossom in the courtyard.

Another huge magnolia blossom.  The magnolia blossoms in other parts of the Summer Palace had already begun to wilt and fall.  This tree, less exposed to the elements and the tourists, was at peak.

A magnolia tree full of blossoms in the courtyard.

A final view of the Temple of Buddhist Fragrance, from near the Long Corridor below.  These photographs were taken in mid-April, but as mentioned on a previous page, spring came late to Beijing this year - so tourists wanting to see flora at the Summer Palace should plan to visit during early April.