Pavilion Roof on the Covered Walkway
This view shows part of the interior of the roof of one of the four pavilions that divide the Covered Walkway, along with part of the walkway itself.
The Painting Walkway, more commonly known as the Covered Walkway, is one of the most important structures in the Summer Palace. It is also the longest walkway in the gardens. It is 728m long and it is divided into 273 sections. On the beams and crossbeams of the walkway, there are altogether over 14,000 traditional Chinese paintings. Some of them are birds, flowers and landscapes, the others are from famous ancient poems, dramas or other literary classics, such as "Monkey King", "The Tales of Three Kingdoms", "The Dream of Red Mansion" and so on. Most of the stories here are regarded as the essentials of ancient Chinese classics. Visitors test themselves or their friends to see how much they know about Chinese history and literature while appreciating those figure paintings.
In the 1750s, Emperor Qianlong travelled to the South on six of his inspections, and so loved the beautiful scenery there that he asked the best painters to sketch them down and later he had them copied on the beams and crossbeams of the walkway. Even the Summer Palace itself was modelled after a famous garden in Suzhou, a garden city near modern-day Shanghai. The original walkway was burnt down by Allies during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. The reconstruction was carried out by Emperor Guangxu later.
There are four pavilions along the walkway, representing the four seasons of the year. They play an important role in the construction of the walkway which travels along the undulating terrace of the hillside. The pavilions were built on each of four promontories, thus helping add to the illusion of a single straight structure.
Utilising a typical Chinese gardening method, the walkway serves as a partition between the different landscapes offered by Kunming Lake on one side of it, and Longevity Hill on the other. In summer, the walkway provide a pleasant shade. Emperors and Empresses used to stroll along the walkway, enjoying the refreshing coolness and the beautiful scenery.
Pavilion Roof on the Covered Walkway
This view shows part of the interior of the roof of one of the four pavilions that divide the Covered Walkway, along with part of the walkway itself.
The Painting Walkway, more commonly known as the Covered Walkway, is one of the most important structures in the Summer Palace. It is also the longest walkway in the gardens. It is 728m long and it is divided into 273 sections. On the beams and crossbeams of the walkway, there are altogether over 14,000 traditional Chinese paintings. Some of them are birds, flowers and landscapes, the others are from famous ancient poems, dramas or other literary classics, such as "Monkey King", "The Tales of Three Kingdoms", "The Dream of Red Mansion" and so on. Most of the stories here are regarded as the essentials of ancient Chinese classics. Visitors test themselves or their friends to see how much they know about Chinese history and literature while appreciating those figure paintings.
In the 1750s, Emperor Qianlong travelled to the South on six of his inspections, and so loved the beautiful scenery there that he asked the best painters to sketch them down and later he had them copied on the beams and crossbeams of the walkway. Even the Summer Palace itself was modelled after a famous garden in Suzhou, a garden city near modern-day Shanghai. The original walkway was burnt down by Allies during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. The reconstruction was carried out by Emperor Guangxu later.
There are four pavilions along the walkway, representing the four seasons of the year. They play an important role in the construction of the walkway which travels along the undulating terrace of the hillside. The pavilions were built on each of four promontories, thus helping add to the illusion of a single straight structure.
Utilising a typical Chinese gardening method, the walkway serves as a partition between the different landscapes offered by Kunming Lake on one side of it, and Longevity Hill on the other. In summer, the walkway provide a pleasant shade. Emperors and Empresses used to stroll along the walkway, enjoying the refreshing coolness and the beautiful scenery.