March 29, 2025｜Traveling around Beijing: Teacher Yuan Tengfei takes you to visit the Summer Palace and tells the history of the late Qing Dynasty.

This autumn

With the top teacher

Come to the Royal Garden - Summer Palace

Let's explore the turbulent 30 years of the late Qing Dynasty

Team leader

Teacher Yuan Tengfei
Hailed by fans as "the best history teacher in history"

Event Highlights

Summer Palace

The Summer Palace, a royal garden of the Qing Dynasty in China, was formerly known as the Qingyi Garden. It is located in the western suburbs of Beijing, with water accounting for about three-quarters of its surface. It is adjacent to the Old Summer Palace. It is a large landscape garden built on the site of Kunming Lake and Wanshou Mountain, modeled on the West Lake in Hangzhou, and drawing on the design techniques of Jiangnan gardens. It is also the most well-preserved royal palace and garden, and is known as the " Royal Garden Museum " .

Before Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty ascended the throne, four large imperial gardens were built in the western suburbs of Beijing. In the 15th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign ( 1750 ), Emperor Qianlong used 4.48 million taels of silver to rebuild the Qingyi Garden to honor his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing, forming a 20-kilometer-long imperial garden area from the current Tsinghua Garden to Xiangshan. In the 10th year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign ( 1860 ), the Qingyi Garden was burned down by the British and French allied forces.

In the 14th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign ( 1888 ), it was rebuilt and renamed the Summer Palace, which was used as a summer resort. In the 26th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign ( 1900 ), the Summer Palace was destroyed by the " Eight-Nation Alliance " and all treasures were looted. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Summer Palace was destroyed again during the warlords' melee and the Kuomintang's rule.

On March 4 , 1961 , the Summer Palace was announced as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. It was known as one of the four famous gardens of China together with Chengde Mountain Resort, Humble Administrator's Garden and Lingering Garden announced at the same time. In November 1998 , it was listed on the World Heritage List.

Summer Palace Scenic Area Route Map

The mystery of the source of funds for the reconstruction of the Summer Palace

Summer Palace

During the late Qing Dynasty, the nation was in decline and the whole country was in mourning. But the Summer Palace was the only place where there was singing and dancing, and joy. This was because the Empress Dowager Cixi, the " Old Buddha " at the time, lived in the garden.

There was a rumor that after Emperor Guangxu returned to power, he spent the military funds that should have been given to the Beiyang Fleet in order to rebuild the Summer Palace for Empress Dowager Cixi, which was also the most direct reason why the Qing Dynasty lost to Japan in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

Is this really the case? How much did it cost to rebuild the Summer Palace? Was there any embezzlement of military funds? If so, how much was embezzled?

The Hundred Days' Reform and the Wuxu Coup

Books on the bus

After losing the First Sino-Japanese War, Emperor Guangxu, who vowed not to be a king who lost his country, began to promote the Reform Movement of 1898, hoping to completely change the ruling structure of the Qing Dynasty from the superstructure. More than 100 days after the Reform Movement, Empress Dowager Cixi, who was enjoying her old age in the Summer Palace, could no longer sit still. She rushed back to the Forbidden City overnight, led the Reform Movement of 1898, placed Guangxu under house arrest, and once again took the stage as the highest ruler of the Qing Dynasty.

How did Empress Dowager Cixi spend her time in the Summer Palace during the Hundred Days' Reform? Did she believe in slander and launch a coup, or did she simply not want to return power to Emperor Guangxu? During the days when Empress Dowager Cixi lived in the Summer Palace, was the highest ruling center of the Qing Dynasty located in the Forbidden City or the Summer Palace?

Cixi and Guangxu

This lifelong bond between aunt and nephew

Registration Information

Event Time

● March 29 , 2025 

Event Location

●Beijing - Summer Palace

* The specific meeting place will be sent to your mobile phone by our customer service staff about three days before the group starts. Please pay attention to the push notifications.

* After successful registration, you must go to the gathering place and participate in the event together. After the event, you will be dismissed at the same place.

Number of participants

●No more than 40 people

●Children under 6 years old are not recommended to participate. Minors aged 6-14 years old must be accompanied by a guardian

●Refuse to temporarily parachute

Activity Fees

The fee includes: explanation by expert lecturer; tour guide service throughout the trip; audio guide.

The fee does not include: round trip travel before and after the meeting; other personal expenses.

 Hassle-free refund policy

● If the event is unable to take place due to the organizer’s reasons or force majeure, all fees can be refunded to you (the place can be reserved if it is postponed);

●In addition to the above, no fees will be refunded once the registration is successful (transferable places);

● Children under 6 years old are not allowed to participate in this event, and children between 6 and 14 years old are not allowed to participate in the event alone.

* Note: In order to ensure the sustainability of offline activities, recording and videotaping are prohibited throughout the event. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding

* Note: After successful registration, the fee is non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Please do not bid if you mind.