Tickets and booking
Tickets come in two tiers. An entrance-only ticket costs 30 RMB in the peak season (April 1 to October 31) and 20 RMB in the off season (November 1 to March 31). A combination ticket — 60 RMB peak, 50 RMB off — adds the four separately ticketed inner sites: the Garden of Virtue and Harmony (5 RMB on its own), the Summer Palace Museum (20 RMB), the Tower of Buddhist Incense (10 RMB) and Suzhou Street (10 RMB).
Discounted rates — 15 RMB for entrance, 30 RMB for the combination ticket, half price at each inner site — cover visitors aged 6 to 18 and full-time students up to undergraduate level, among other eligible groups. Entry is free for children aged 6 and under or 1.2 metres and under, holders of the Beijing Tong senior-and-disability card, visitors aged 60 and over with valid ID or passport, disabled visitors, and serving military, armed police, fire-rescue and retired military personnel with credentials. Licensed guides leading groups with an agency itinerary and dispatch form enter free, and on June 1 all children are admitted without charge. For anything beyond the posted rates, the listed enquiry line is 010-62881144.
Entrance and routes
Four gates serve the park, and the choice comes down to rail or bus. The North Palace Gate and the East Palace Gate both sit on Metro Line 4 — Beigongmen Station, Exit D, for the north; Xiyuan Station, Exit C1 or C2, for the east — which makes Line 4 the only listed rail link and the approach most travellers default to. The West Palace Gate is reached on buses 469 and 539, the New Palace Gate on buses 374, 437 and 74; both stops sit within walking distance of their gates.
Because a full visit runs three hours or more, the starting gate effectively sets the direction of travel across the park rather than serving as a base to circle back to. Travellers arriving by rail tend to let the Line 4 station decide the entry point and plan the exit toward whichever gate best suits the journey home.
Photo spots
The named landmarks do the photographic heavy lifting. Among the ticketed inner sites, the Tower of Buddhist Incense, Suzhou Street, the Garden of Virtue and Harmony and the Summer Palace Museum are the marquee settings; among the free courtyards, the frequently framed ones include the Hall of Jade Ripples, Leshoutang, Yiyunguan, the Garden of Harmonious Pleasures, Huazhongyou and the inner courtyards of South Lake Island.
Timing shapes the shots as much as equipment does. The grounds open at 06:00 in the peak season and 06:30 in the off season, but every inner site and courtyard stays shut until 08:00 or 08:30, so early light belongs to the open park rather than the buildings. Those same interiors close at 18:00 in the peak season and 17:00 in the off season, and the ticketed four — plus several courtyards — shut entirely on Mondays outside public holidays, so schedule the architectural shots for any other day of the week.
Timing and crowds
Two seasonal schedules govern the day. From April 1 to October 31 the grounds run 06:00 to 20:00, last entry 19:00; from November 1 to March 31 they run 06:30 to 19:00, last entry 18:00. Inside those windows, every courtyard and inner site keeps shorter hours — 08:00 to 18:00 in the peak season, 08:30 to 17:00 in the off season. Outside statutory holidays, the four ticketed sites close on Mondays, along with the Jiqingxuan, Yangyunxuan and Yishoutang courtyards, the inner courtyards of South Lake Island and the water maneuver school at the Plowing and Weaving Scenic Area.
With a suggested duration of three hours or more, the arithmetic favours a morning start: arriving at opening buys roughly two hours of the open park before the courtyards unlock, leaving the rest of the day for the ticketed sites. Late arrivals face the reverse trade-off — last entry falls at 19:00 in the peak season and 18:00 in the off season, and the courtyards shut a full two hours before the grounds do. The park describes its published hours as reference only and subject to same-day disclosure, so confirm before an early start.
Walking and effort
The Summer Palace is a landscaped park, not a trailhead: the visit is a stroll between palaces, courtyards and garden scenery, and it calls for nothing more demanding than comfortable shoes.
The honest measure of effort is the suggested duration — three hours or more — because the ticketed sites and open courtyards are spread across the grounds, and a meaningful share of them adds up to a half-day of steady, easy-paced walking. Travellers who tire can skip the inner sites and stay on the open grounds; only the four garden-within-garden sites carry separate admission, so trimming the route costs little.
Getting there
Metro Line 4 is the backbone. For the North Palace Gate, ride to Beigongmen Station and take Exit D; for the East Palace Gate, use Xiyuan Station, Exit C1 or C2. Both stations leave you within walking distance of the gates.
Buses cover all four entrances. The Summer Palace North Palace Gate stop is served by routes 303, 332, 346, 384, 394 and 563; the Summer Palace stop, at the East Palace Gate, by routes 303, 332, 346, 584 and Night Bus 8; the Summer Palace West Gate stop by routes 469 and 539; and the Summer Palace New Palace Gate stop by routes 374, 437 and 74. The address is 19 Xinjiangongmen Road, Haidian District, Beijing, and the listed enquiry number is 010-62881144.
Cost breakdown
Per adult, peak season (April 1 to October 31): entrance only 30 RMB, combination ticket 60 RMB. Off season (November 1 to March 31): entrance only 20 RMB, combination ticket 50 RMB.
The combination ticket bundles the entrance fee with the four inner sites, which bought separately total 45 RMB — Garden of Virtue and Harmony 5 RMB, Summer Palace Museum 20 RMB, Tower of Buddhist Incense 10 RMB, Suzhou Street 10 RMB — so seeing all four saves 15 RMB in either season. The same logic holds for discounted visitors: a 30 RMB combination ticket against 15 RMB for entrance plus 22.5 RMB in half-price inner sites. Children aged 6 and under or 1.2 metres and under pay nothing, and on June 1 every child enters free.
