At the northeast of Summer Palace which is located in eastern Haidian District is the ruins of Yuanmingyuan (the Perfection and Brightness Garden). It was also called the Old Summer Palace by Western tourists, and is distinguished from the Summer Palace in this way. The Old Summer Palace was first built in the 18th year of Kangxi, Qing Dynasty (1709). It took more than 150 years to build such a large-scaled imperial garden. There are about 140 halls, pavilions, and towers and more than 100 scenic spots in total. The constructions here imitated the architectural style in Suzhou, Hangzhou, and even the Western style. The Old Summer Palace also collected numerous of treasures, books and relics. It got the reputation of "the Garden of Gardens"
Historically, the whole Old Summer Palace was composed of the Old Summer Palace, the Garden of Everlasting Spring (Changchun Yuan) and the Garden of Eternal Spring (Wanchun Yuan). They were separated with walls. The whole old Summer Palace covers an area of 350sqm. Five Qing emperors; Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xianfeng used to set their residence here. They also dealt with state affairs in the Old Summer Palace. In the 10TH year of Xianfeng, Qing Dynasty (1860), the Old Summer Palace was destroyed and burnt by the British and French troops. From then on, the Old Summer Palace was deserted. After 1949, the government paid more attention to repair it. 10 scenic spots have been repaired. Though it is impossible to completely recover the original appearance, you are still able to enjoy the grandness of the imperial garden.



Name:Beijing Old Summer Palace (Yuanming Yuan)
City:Beijing
Address:No.28 Qinghua West Road, Haidian District
Admission:CNY10
Hours: 8:30 am-5:00 pm(Nov-Mar)
7:00 am-7:00 pm(Apr-Oct)
Tel:0086-10-62628501

This article was posted on 2007-09-25
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