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The Summer Palace was first built in 1750, the 15th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. It was burned down by the Anglo-French allied forces in 1860 during the Second Opium War, and was rebuilt in 1886, during the reign of Emperor Guangxu. The corridor was constructed so that the emperor's mother could enjoy a walk through the gardens protected from the elements. The Long Corridor has 273 sections decorated with more than 8,000 colored paintings, with a total length of 728 meters. It was named the largest painted corridor in the world by The Guinness Book of Records in 1990. As a part of the Summer Palace, the Long Corridor was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in December 1998.

The Long Corridor is richly decorated with paintings on the beams and the ceiling. In total there are more than 14,000 paintings, which depict episodes from Chinese classical literature, folk tales, both historical and legendary figures, famous Chinese buildings and landscapes along with flowers, birds, fish and insects. These works are rich in content, covering the 5,000-year history of China. In each of the four pavilions, there are two major paintings over the two doorways on the eastern and western sides. The topics of these paintings are described below:

The Tale of the Peach-Blossom Land

The Tale of the Peach-Blossom Land (Tao Hua Yuan Ji) is set during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It tells the story of a fisherman who discovers a secluded valley (Shi Wai Tao Yuan) located on the other side of a narrow cave. The inhabitants of the valley were the descendants of war refugees from the times of the Qin Dynasty. They had lived in this utopia untroubled by the further course of history in peace and harmony ever since. The fisherman returned home to tell the story, but the idyllic valley could never be found again.

Zhang Fei's Fight with Ma Chao

The subject of this painting is a fierce, stalemate battle between two of the future Five Tiger Generals of the Kingdom of Shu, Zhang Fei and Ma Chao. The story is taken from the 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the Four Classical Novels of Chinese Literature.