The Long Corridor in the Summer Palace is magnificent. It has a total length of 728 meters and consists of 273 rooms. It occupies a unique position among numerous ancient buildings and gardens in China. It is the longest gallery. It is renowned far and wide and has enjoyed a long reputation for its exquisite architectural craftsmanship, winding and changeable layout, and a large number of colorful and magnificent paintings.
The Long Corridor is ingenious in its spatial layout. It starts from the Yaoyue Gate in the east, extends westward to the Shizhang Pavilion, and passes through the Paiyun Gate in the middle, forming a coherent and orderly spatial context. Moreover, on both sides of the Long Corridor, there are four double-eaved octagonal pyramidal pavilions symmetrically dotted, namely Liujia, Jilan, Qiushui and Qingyao. They are like four bright pearls, symbolizing the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter respectively, adding a different kind of cultural charm and artistic beauty to the Long Corridor. It makes people feel as if they can experience the wonderful changes of the four seasons when walking along it.
It is especially worth mentioning that each tie beam in the Long Corridor is carefully painted with colorful paintings, with a total number of more than 14,000. These colorful paintings have bright colors and exquisite patterns, presenting a magnificent visual effect as a whole and demonstrating a high artistic level. For this reason, its unique charm in terms of length and richness was included in the Guinness World Records in 1990, becoming a highlight that attracts much attention among the many landscapes in the Summer Palace. It attracts countless tourists to come here, eager to experience its unique style and profound cultural heritage in person.
