Unity of Lake and Mountain: From Kunming Lake to the Summer Palace

“Today I’m in Beijing’s Summer Palace, walking along Kunming Lake, the imperial waters that mirror mountains and pavilions. This lake once stored water, trained naval cadets, and staged the classic layout of ‘one causeway, six bridges’ and ‘one lake, three isles’.”

“今天我们来到北京颐和园，沿着昆明湖行走——这片皇家水面倒映着群山与殿阁。它曾用于蓄水、训练水师，呈现出‘一堤六桥、一池三山’的经典格局。”

Kunming Lake sits at the foot of Longevity Hill in the Summer Palace, a Qing imperial garden renowned for blending natural topography with crafted views. Here the lake and the man‑made hill form a semi‑natural ensemble: temples and halls crown the ridge, while on the water the iconic patterns of a single causeway with six bridges and a lake dotted by three isles unfold. Historically, the lake served dual functions—reservoir and parade ground for water drills—linking courtly leisure with statecraft. Today the Summer Palace remains the most intact of the “Three Hills and Five Gardens,” letting visitors read design ideas in situ through shoreline paths, bridges, and long corridors framing shifting scenes. These paths choreograph movement so that views open and close like chapters, a hallmark of Chinese garden craft deployed here at monumental scale. 

昆明湖依万寿山而设，颐和园以“因地形而造景”著称。湖与人工山体构成半自然的整体：山脊冠以殿宇楼观，湖面铺陈“一堤六桥、一池三山”的图式。历史上，这里既是发挥水利功能的蓄水水库，也是湖景相融的皇家苑囿。今天，颐和园作为“三山五园”中保存最完整的一处，游客可以沿着岸线、桥梁与长廊阅读造园理念，视线像翻书一样开合——这是中国园林的“步移景异”，在此被推至宏大尺度。

From Kunming Lake, we can read a wider map: the capital’s western suburbs once held the legendary “Three Hills and Five Gardens.” Think of it as an open city of water, woods and courts, vast in scale and threaded by roads, temples, fields, and royal parks.

从昆明湖望去，可读出更大的地图：京西曾经的“三山五园”。把它想象成一座没有城墙的山水之城——水网、林地、宫苑、道路、寺观与田园交织。

I’m stepping onto the West Causeway. Modeled on Hangzhou’s Su Causeway, it splits the waters and carries six distinct bridges—Jiehu, Binfeng, Yudai, Jing, Lian, and Liu—each framing a different scene. Each span edits water, sky, and architecture into traveling scrolls.

“我走上西堤。它仿杭州苏堤而建，将湖面一分为二，堤上自北而南分布界湖、豳风、玉带、镜、练、柳六桥，每一桥都像一台取景器，把水天与建筑剪辑成移动的画卷。”

The West Causeway divided the waters into West Lake and Kunming Lake and ensured exchange through six bridges from north to south: Jiehu, Binfeng (originally Sangzhu), Yudai, Jing, Lian, and Liu. Planted with willows and peaches, the causeway became the stage for the famed “Jiangnan‑in‑the‑North” spring, its bridges acting like camera apertures that compose towers on the hill, island temples, and broad sheets of water into framed pictures. Between Lian and Liu Bridges stands Jingming Pavilion, its name drawn from a classic line about spring’s clear light and calm waves. 

苏堤重建西堤，将水面分为西湖与昆明湖，并以界湖—豳风（原名桑贮）—玉带—镜—练—柳六桥沟通水体。堤上植柳种桃，春日成就“北国江南”之景；六桥像光圈一般取景：山上楼阁、岛上殿宇与阔大的水面被收入一帧一帧“画面”。练桥与柳桥之间的“景明楼”，其名出自“春和景明，波澜不惊”的典故。

Now we arrive at Jingming Pavilion. Its name comes from Fanjonian's famous essay, Memorial of Yueyang Tower. “when spring is warm and the sun is bright, the waves remain calm.”

“我们现在来到景明楼。它的名字取自北宋范仲淹的著名散文《岳阳楼记》。其中有一句话是：‘春和景明，波澜不惊’。”

Jingming Pavilion is situated on the West Causeway of Kunming Lake, positioned between Lian Bridge and Liu Bridge. It was constructed during the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty as part of the large-scale expansion of the Summer Palace. The Pavilion is two-story, designed in the traditional Chinese style with overhanging eaves and a view over the lake surface. It functions as a central landmark of the West Causeway, marking the midpoint of the six bridges that divide and connect the waters of Kunming Lake. 

景明楼位于昆明湖西堤，在练桥与柳桥之间，建于清代乾隆时期颐和园大规模扩建时。景明楼为二层楼阁，采用传统木构样式，屋顶飞檐，临湖而建，可俯瞰湖面。它是西堤上的重要标志性建筑，处在“一堤六桥”的中段位置，既起到连接湖东西两岸的作用，也成为六桥格局的中心点。

Last time I visited the Guo Shoujing memorial, and today here at Kunming Lake, I Learned that this lake is also part of his hydraulic legacy. It not only solves flooding in the western suburbs, but also provided reliable water for the city supply, farmland, irrigation, grasslands, and the building of the Imperial Gardens. 

上次我参观了郭守敬纪念馆，今天在昆明湖，我了解到这片湖泊也是他水利工程遗产的一部分。它不仅治理了西郊的水患，还为城市供水、农田灌溉、草场以及皇家园林建设提供了充足而可靠的水源。

Kunming Lake originated from the Yuan dynasty water projects of Guo Shoujing, who diverted springs to create a reservoir linked with the Tonghui River and the Grand Canal. In 1749, Emperor Qianlong further expanded the lake by dredging springs and waterways around Xiangshan and Yuquan Mountain. These efforts controlled flooding in the western suburbs and secured water for urban supply, farmland irrigation, transport, and imperial garden construction. As Beijing’s first large reservoir, Kunming Lake played a crucial role in the city’s water conservancy and the history of the Grand Canal.

昆明湖起源于元代郭守敬的水利工程，他引泉建库，使其与通惠河和大运河相连。乾隆十四年（1749年），又对香山、玉泉山一带的泉源和水道进行疏浚，扩建昆明湖。这些工程既治理了西郊水患，又保障了城市供水、农田灌溉、水运交通和皇家园林建设。作为北京历史上的第一个大型水库，昆明湖在城市水利和大运河历史中发挥了重要作用。

Walking along the West Causeway, the surface of Kunming Lake resembles a mirror, reflecting palaces and mountains while also refracting centuries of Beijing’s water history. In the Yuan dynasty, Guo Shoujing diverted springs and built reservoirs, linking rivers and canals to make this lake a key hub of western Beijing’s water system. During the Qianlong reign, large-scale dredging and expansion combined the function of water management with the artistry of garden design. Today, as we stroll here, each step reveals a new scene, unfolding like a scroll of this “city of mountains and waters,” where Beijing’s enduring water culture and the exquisite wisdom of classical Chinese architecture and garden art still echo together.

沿着西堤一路行来，昆明湖的水面仿佛一面镜子，映照着宫殿与群山，也折射出北京数百年的水脉变迁。元代郭守敬引泉建库、通江达河，使这片湖泊成为京西水利的枢纽；乾隆年间疏浚扩建，把治水之功与造园之美融为一体。今天，我们徜徉其间，步移景异、移步换景，行走在这“山水之城”的长卷之中，感受北京悠久的水文化与中国古典建筑园林精妙智慧间的永恒回响。

出品人：王晓辉

Executive Producer: Wang Xiaohui

总监制：薛立胜

Chief Supervisor: Xue Lisheng

总策划：蔚力

Chief Planner: Yu Li

制片：张芃芃

Producer: Zhang Pengpeng

策划：张芃芃 丁素云 曹川川 李颖

Creative Planning: Zhang Pengpeng, Ding Suyun, Cao Chuanchuan, Li Ying

导演：龚小磊

Director: Gong Xiaolei

撰稿：张芃芃

Screenwriter: Zhang Pengpeng

主持人：荣希玛 (Chaima El Moujradi) 劳拉 (Laura Ugalde) 德密柰 (Marina Dech)

Hosts: Chaima El Moujradi, Laura Ugalde, Marina Dech

摄像：李春浩 王恺琦

Cinematography: Li Chunhao, Wang Kaiqi

跟机：王俊胜

Camera Assistant: Wang Junsheng

剪辑：王恺琦 顾钧予 刘泽敖

Editing: Wang Kaiqi, Gu Junyu, Liu Zeao

调色：康凯

Color Grading: Kang Kai

混音：康凯

Sound Mixing: Kang Kai

推广：孟超 李昭 姜壹平 苏向东 丁素云 王雁青 葛蕾 秦金月 张静

Promotion: Meng Chao, Li Zhao, Jiang Yiping, Su Xiangdong, Ding Suyun, Wang Yanqing, Ge Lei, Qin Jinyue, Zhang Jing

节目承制：大音

Produced by: NEWSAYING (Shanghai) Consulting and Planning Co., Ltd.