A local's secret! A wild route to appreciate flowers in the Summer Palace away from the crowds

👉🏻 Route map** Beigongmen (North Palace Gate) → Houxi River → Xiequ Garden → Jiqingxuan → West Causeway → Gengzhitu (Pictures of Farming and Weaving) → Nanhu Island (5km in total, 2h of walking with fewer people and more flowers) 🌺 Secret flower viewing spots **1️⃣ [Wild Peach Blossoms in Houxi River]** 📍 Turn right at Beigongmen and walk along the river 🌸 Mid-to-late March ✅ Avoid the crowds in Suzhou Street. The wild peach trees along the river are reflected in the clear water. Turn on the portrait mode on your phone to instantly capture the artistic conception of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon! ⚠️ Enter at 7 am when it opens to capture the ink painting effect when the morning mist has not yet dissipated (personally encountered an uncle practicing calligraphy on the stone slab with a brush!) **2️⃣ [Ancient Magnolia in Jiqingxuan]** 📍 The northernmost end of Xiequ Garden 🌸 Early April ✅ The white magnolia in Qianlong's private courtyard, with flower branches protruding from the corners of the blue tile eaves. Wear Hanfu and stand on the stone steps in the southeast corner to take pictures, with the flower shadows and century-old colored paintings in the same frame! 💡 Fun fact: This used to be the place where Empress Dowager Cixi listened to storytelling, and now even tour guides don't bring groups here~ **3️⃣ [Mountain Peach Blossom in West Causeway]** 📍 From Jing Bridge to Liu Bridge 🌸 Late March ✅ Take photos of the flower branches against the light on the west side of Kunming Lake. After 4 pm, the lake surface is covered with golden scales. Use a telephoto lens to frame the Seventeen-Arch Bridge into the gaps of the mountain peach blossoms! (Ten times fewer people than the popular Jade Belt Bridge) ⚠️ Be careful of mandarin ducks stealing the spotlight! These social birds will suddenly rush into the camera to pose~ **4️⃣ [Wisteria Falls in Gengzhitu]** 📍 West side of the Shuicao School 🌸 Late April ✅ On the ruins of the Qing Dynasty Naval Academy, century-old wisteria vines entwine the stone pillars. Squat down and shoot upwards to get the atmosphere of the forest god in Princess Mononoke! 🚫 Don't shoot at noon! The top light will make the wisteria gray, and cloudy days are more dreamy~ **5️⃣ [Banksia Rose in Nanhu Island]** 📍 North wall of the Dragon King Temple 🌸 Early May ✅ A white flower waterfall that is ridiculously unpopular. The flower branches hang into Kunming Lake. Use a 0.5x wide-angle lens to photograph people sitting on the stone railing by the lake, as if suspended in a sea of flowers! 🚶♀️ Hiking Guide - **Equipment**: Wear non-slip shoes! The moss stone steps of Houxi River are super slippery (don't ask me how I know) - **Supplies**: Bring your own water + snacks. Mineral water in the scenic area costs 6 yuan/bottle - **Shortcut**: From Xiequ Garden to West Causeway, take the dirt road behind "Chenghuaige", which saves 15 minutes compared to the main road