In 1680, Kangxi began restoring the gardens on what is now called Longevity Hill.
Qianlong continued the work, excavating
Kunming Lake in honor of his mother’s
sixtieth birthday, in 1754. The large lake
recalled the beauty of West Lake in
Hangzhou. The garden was named Yihe
Yuan, the Garden of Harmony and Ease,
in the 19th century.
A covered gallery, over a half mile long,
borders the north side of Kunming Lake.
Landscape scenes and fl oral motifs
decorate the crossbeams of the gal-
lery’s 273 bays. Picturesque bridges,
such as the Marble (Jade Belt) Bridge
and the Seventeen-Arch Bridge con-
nect various causeways. Behind Longev-
ity Hill to the north, the emperor had
an urban street scene re-created along
a canal, in imitation of an actual retail
district in Suzhou. Behind the royal
palace to the east, a garden-within-a-
garden (called The Garden of Harmo-
nious Interest) replicated a famous
Suzhou garden.
The original garden was destroyed during
the Opium Wars in the 19th century, and
has since been rebuilt.