The Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) is an imperial lakeside garden on Kunming Lake in Haidian district, in Beijing's north-west. The figures we can confirm come from Visit Beijing, the state tourism site (an article dated August 2025): from 1 April to 31 October the basic ticket is CNY 30, a combined ticket that includes the gardens inside the garden is CNY 60, and the park opens at 06:00 with last entry at 19:00. This page is honest about its limits: we could not open the park's own official website, so we have not confirmed the booking steps or winter hours.
Country-wide entry rules, payments and trains are on the China hub. The overview is in the Beijing travel guide. Where to base yourself is covered in where to stay in Beijing, and the other attraction pages are the Forbidden City and the Mutianyu Great Wall.
Prices and hours
Everything in this table comes from a single Visit Beijing article of 10 August 2025, which is a summer-season article of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism's site. It may have changed since, and we have not compared it with a current park notice.
| Item | Figure (1 Apr to 31 Oct) |
|---|---|
| Park hours | Opens 06:00, last entry 19:00, closes 20:00 |
| Basic ticket | CNY 30 |
| Combined ticket (includes the gardens inside) | CNY 60 |
| Discount ticket | Basic CNY 15, combined CNY 30, gardens inside half price |
| Tower of Buddhist Incense (佛香阁) | CNY 10 |
| Garden of Virtue and Harmony (德和园) | CNY 5 |
| Yiheyuan Museum | CNY 20 |
| Suzhou Street (苏州街) | CNY 10 |
| Hours of the gardens inside (Buddhist Incense Tower, Virtue and Harmony, museum, Suzhou Street) | 08:00 to 18:00 |
| Hours of the Garden of Harmonious Interests (谐趣园), Jiqingxuan and some other gardens | 08:00 to 18:00 |
The article says that the combined ticket is the basic ticket plus the tickets for the gardens inside, and that every ticket type has a discount version. It does not say which foreign visitors qualify, so we do not confirm any discount for foreign tourists. For 1 November to 31 March we found no hours or prices in the sources we could open. Check before you go if you travel then.
Booking tickets
The same Visit Beijing article says the Summer Palace, along with famous places such as the Peking and Tsinghua university campuses, must be booked ahead through official channels. It does not name the mini-program or say how many days ahead you can book for this park. A local-news search result that we have not read ourselves, so we do not treat it as confirmation, says that you can buy 1 to 7 days ahead through the mini-program "颐和园官方在线购票" or the "畅游公园" account, and that the combined ticket cannot be refunded once checked. We did not test booking and do not confirm this. Search for the park's own mini-program name in WeChat, or ask your hotel.
Real-name booking at Beijing's imperial sites works on similar principles, for example at the Forbidden City, which uses passport booking and no same-day tickets. We do not confirm that the Summer Palace uses the same rules.
Walking routes
Visit Beijing suggests three sample routes. They are the article's suggestions, not official routes.
- Lakeside route: enter by the Xinjian Gate (新建宫门), pass the bronze ox and the 17-Arch Bridge, take a boat to South Lake Island, then the Marble Boat, a painted pavilion on the walkway, the Long Corridor (the article calls it the world's longest gallery), the Tower of Buddhist Incense and the Garden of Harmonious Interests (谐趣园), and exit by the north gate.
- Back-hill route: enter by the east gate, pass the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, Zhichun Pavilion, the Garden of Harmonious Interests and Suzhou Street, then exit by the north gate.
- Short route: enter by the North Ruyi Gate (北如意门), pass the painted pavilion, the Tower of Buddhist Incense, the Long Corridor, Zhichun Pavilion and the 17-Arch Bridge, then leave by the Xinjian Gate.
We have not measured walking time or distance for any route, and the article does not give them.
Getting there
Wikivoyage places the Summer Palace in Haidian, in the north-west of the city. Visit Beijing says the Xijiao suburban line (西郊线), described as a scenic line, runs between the Summer Palace, the National Botanical Garden and Xiangshan. We have not checked the nearest station for each gate against an official map, so we name no stations or walking times; check a map app when you choose a gate, because the routes above enter and leave by different gates.
The article also says the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) is on the same Haidian route: peak-season hours open 07:00, last entry 19:00, closing 20:00, with CNY 10 for the entrance ticket, CNY 25 for the combined ticket and CNY 15 for the western palace ruins. Those are the same article's figures, dated August 2025.
Combining it with other sights
The Summer Palace is in the north-west, far from the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen in the centre. We have not checked travel times between them, so we suggest giving each its own day. See the day-planning ideas in the Beijing travel guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Summer Palace cost?
From 1 April to 31 October, CNY 30 for the basic ticket and CNY 60 for the combined ticket, per Visit Beijing (August 2025). We did not find figures for other months in readable sources.
What time does it open?
From 1 April to 31 October it opens at 06:00, last entry 19:00, and closes at 20:00. The gardens inside open 08:00 to 18:00.
What is the difference between the basic and combined tickets?
Per the article, the combined ticket is the basic ticket plus the tickets for the gardens inside, such as the Tower of Buddhist Incense. If you buy the basic ticket, you buy each garden separately at CNY 5 to 20.
Do I need to book ahead?
Visit Beijing says to book through official channels in advance. We did not open the park's own site and do not confirm the steps or the number of days.
How long should I allow?
We did not time a visit, and the Visit Beijing article gives no duration. The park is large, so allow at least half a day (our conclusion).
When were these facts checked?
On 16 October 2026 against Visit Beijing and Wikivoyage. The Summer Palace's official site could not be opened from our connection, so this is the least-verified page in our Beijing set.
How this page compares
We read China Highlights' and Travel China Guide's Beijing pages as English benchmarks. Their Summer Palace write-ups are broader introductions. This page adds figures with their source and date, and says plainly which items are unconfirmed.
Links on this page and our earnings
The tour search box on this page opens the provider's search page. As of 17 October 2026 we have no registered affiliate link for the Summer Palace and earn nothing from it yet. A tour that includes the park is the tour operator's product, and its price and terms are the operator's.
Official sources and further reading
- Visit Beijing: Summer Palace hours and fees (10 August 2025 article)
- Wikivoyage: Beijing (Haidian district; not official)
- Palace Museum booking site (an example of real-name booking at Beijing imperial sites)
- China Highlights: Beijing Travel Guide (benchmark)
- Travel China Guide: Beijing city guide (benchmark)
Prices, schedules and entry rules change. Figures here are approximate as of 2026; always confirm on the official or operator page before you book. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
