Nice view titled Environs de Peking. — Vue prise du Palais d'Eté, from wood engraving with fine detail and clear impression, approx. page size is 25 x 17 cm, approx. image size is 19 x 13 cm. From La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes, 19 vol. (1875-94) (edition in English: The Earth and Its Inhabitants, 1878-94), great work of Elisee Reclus.

Summer Palace

The Summer Palace (Chinese: 頤和園; pinyin: Yíhéyuán), is a vast  ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing, China. It was an imperial  garden in Qing Dynasty. Mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (万寿山; 萬壽山; Wànshòu  Shān) and Kunming Lake, it covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometres (1.1 sq  mi), three-quarters of which is water.

Longevity Hill is about 60 metres (200 feet) high and has many buildings  positioned in sequence. The front hill is rich with splendid halls and  pavilions, while the back hill, in sharp contrast, is quiet with natural beauty.  The central Kunming Lake, covering 2.2 square kilometres (540 acres), was  entirely man-made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill.

In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List.  It declared the Summer Palace "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design.  The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial  features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a  harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value".