The Qing emperors' summer retreat in the northwest of the city: a 290-hectare imperial garden built around Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, with pavilions, bridges, a marble boat, and the famously kitsch 728-metre Long Corridor painted end to end with scenes from Chinese mythology. Empress Dowager Cixi, who rebuilt the palace in 1888 after British and French troops destroyed it, is the defining personality of the place.
A half-day visit on foot or a full day with a boat on the lake. Less crowded than the Forbidden City and arguably more beautiful.