颐和园始建于1750年，起初的名称是清漪园，是乾隆皇帝(1735-1796)为庆祝母亲60大寿而修建。
The Summer Palace started to be constructed in 1750 under the orders of Emperor Qianlong (乾隆皇帝1735-1796). Originally called "The Garden of Clear Ripples" (清漪园Qing Yi Yuan) . The purpose for building the palace was that Emperor Qianlong prepared a gift to celebrate his mother’s 60th birthday.
漫步在昆明湖畔，可以清楚地眺望玉泉山上的玉峰塔。
Taking a walk along the Kunming Lake, you can see clearly the Yufeng Pagoda (玉峰塔) on Yuquan Mountain (玉泉山).
令人痛心的是在1860年第二次鸦片战争期间，颐和园被英法联军烧毁。慈禧重建了园子，更名为颐和园，到1900年被义和团运动再次烧毁。颐和园不得不再次重建。1924年颐和园正式对外开放，1998年被联合国教科文组织列为世界文化遗产。
It was very sad that the garden was burned down with the invasion of Anglo-French troops （英法联军） in 1860 during the Second Opium War (鸦片战争1856-1860). That was just after the reconstruction of the garden under Empress Dowager Cixi's reign in 1888 that the garden was renamed the "Summer Palace". Burnt down a second time in 1900 after the Boxer Rebellion (1898-1901) and reconstructed another time, the Summer Palace was opened to public in 1924. In 1998, UNESCO（联合国教科文组织）awarded it World Cultural Heritage（世界文化遗产）.
颐和园是中国建筑史上最宏大的园林，占地2.9平方公里，其中四分之三面积为水域，由3000多个古代建筑，包括亭子、塔、桥、长廊，最主要的建筑当属万寿山和昆明湖。
The Summer Palace is China's largest and most grandiose garden ever constructed. Covering an area of 2,9 km2, three quarters of which are covered of water, the palace is composed of over 3000 ancient structures including pavilions, towers, bridges and corridors. The most important parts are the Longevity Hill (万寿山), and Kunming Lake (昆明湖).
