Adjacent to Yuanmingyuan Park, this grand landscape garden is built on the foundation of Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, modeled after West Lake in Hangzhou, incorporating the design techniques of Jiangnan-style gardens.
The entire park is centered around Beihai Lake, covering approximately 71 hectares with 583 mu of water surface and 480 mu of land. It was established as an imperial garden during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Bestowed by Empress Dowager Cixi to Prince Gong Yixin, later known as Prince Kung's Palace Museum, it witnessed the historical process of the Qing Dynasty's rise and fall.