"The present-day ruins are testimony to that period of history. A good example of the debate can be read here. Old Summer Palace's Grand Gate Is Set to Open to Public in Beijing After Nearly 100 Years. Almost no rebuilding of above-the-ground structures has been undertaken yet (except for some bridges). While supporters argue the reconstruction will help to restore the Chinese nation's grand history, opponents claim that it is a waste of money and damage to historic truth. This is maybe why unknowing visitors sometimes incorrectly assume that the Old Summer Palace consisted only of European style buildings. google_color_link = "0000FF"; google_ad_client = "pub-5222848495763360"; google_color_border = "000000"; google_ad_width = 160; Much archaeological work has been carried out and some foundations have been rebuilt. However, most of the lakes and waterways have been drained, tidied, banks rebuilt and refilled with water, while hills around the lakes have been cleared of brushwood, recreating long forgotten vistas. China Development Empress dowager CiXi later directed the forming of YiHeYuan (Garden of Nurtured Harmony), into a new Summer Palace, near to the Old Summer Palace, but on a smaller scale. Reconstruction. google_ad_height = 600; Li Jianping, a Yuanmingyuan expert, said both viewpoints seek "to protect China's great cultural heritage and enhance its position in world cultural history.". 146 years after Anglo-French Forces stormed into Beijing's Yuanmingyan and burnt it to the ground, a Chinese private foundation announced Thursday that it would build a replica of the famous royal gardens. Keywords: The Old Summer Palace,Reconstruction,Hengdian,Entertainment. google_ad_height = 600; All Rights Reserved. google_ad_client = "pub-5222848495763360"; However, in 1900, those buildings that had partly survived or been restored were burnt for good by the Western expeditionary forces sent to quell the Boxer Rebellion. google_ad_channel =""; google_color_link = "0000FF"; General Elgin, later Lord Elgin (James Bruce 1811-1863), was the son of the famous British lover of Greek art who stole the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens. Shop google_ad_type = "text_image"; Ye Yanfang, a researcher with the institute of foreign literature with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the destruction of Yuanmingyuan was a scar left by powerful western nations on the back of the Chinese nation. google_color_link = "0000FF"; google_ad_client = "pub-5222848495763360"; The Hengdian Social and Economic Federation led by Xu Wenrong won fame for a development featuring imitations of the Forbidden City in Beijing, a Qin Dynasty (221-206BC) palace and a prosperous Song Dynasty (960-1279) downtown street. Professor Ruan Yisan, director of the State Institute of Famous Historical and Cultural Cities with Shanghai-based Tongji University, said "Yuanmingyuan took 150 years to build. 72-year-old Xu told Xinhua at an exclusive interview that he had been dreaming about the project for 15 years. It was destroyed by British and French troops during the second 'Opium War'. Shop //-->, , HD China travel and Chinese culture videos. It consisted of three interconnected gardens covering an area of 350 hectares, of which 140 hectares was water. google_color_link = "0000FF"; Liao Shumin / Construction on Replica of Yuanmingyuan Begins 146 years after Anglo-French Forces stormed into Beijing's Yuanmingyan and burnt it to the ground, a … Upright at the center of the "storm", Xu said he will not be swayed. QiChunYuan. "The advantages and disadvantages of the replica will not be clear until it has been built," said the expert. Gateway, Construction on Replica of Yuanmingyuan Begins, Copyright © China Internet Wild YuanMingYuan. Most of the attractions are in Jiuzhou (‘Nine Provinces’ 九州). Also known as the Ruins of the Yuanmingyuan (the Garden of Perfection and Light), the Old Summer Palace is located northwest of Beijing and to the east of the present-day Summer Palace.The Garden was first constructed in the year of 1709 during the reign of the Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The designer said the new Yuanmingyuan will express "the artistic quintessence of Chinese gardens.". google_color_url = "0000EE"; google_color_bg = "000000"; google_color_url = "0000EE"; Later, on October 18 1860, the British general Elgin - with protestations from the French (who in fact had began the looting) - gave the order to set fire to the huge complex which burned to the ground. In 1860, during the Second Opium War, the British and French expeditionary forces looted the Old Summer Palace. google_ad_format = "300x600_as"; Follow Yicai Global on. The old man said he was confident of being able to recreate the splendor of Yuanmingyuan. They believe that the replica will provide a stark contrast to the bleak remains in Beijing, and reminder young people of that period of history. google_color_bg = "000000"; It cannot be recreated in five or ten years.". "The replica will be a 1:1 imitation of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) complex, featuring the three main building clusters of Yuanming, Changchun and Yichuan gardens. He believes the Yuanmingyuan ruins can continue to serve as a reminder of history, while the Hengdian replica will showcase the artistic achievements of pre-1860 China. google_ad_format = "160x600_as"; After the devastation wrought by invaders, most of the site of the former imperial gardens was left abandoned and used by local farmers as agricultural land. google_ad_client = "pub-5222848495763360"; Photo: Courtesy of Beijing Re-Yuanmingyuan Company Limited A digital bird’s-eye view of the restored Old Summer Palace from the reign of the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). YuanMingYuan was a wonderland of lakes and waterways, bridges, hills and pavilions. Under the order of Premier Zhou Enlai, YuanMingYuan became a park to remind the Chinese people and the world of the destruction wrought by European colonial powers to a harmless and priceless cultural entity that rightly belonged to all mankind. ... Reconstruction. The Old Summer Palace, known in Chinese as Yuanming Yuan (圆明园; 圓明園; Yuánmíng Yuán; 'Gardens of Perfect Brightness'), and originally called the Imperial Gardens (御园; 御園; Yù Yuán), was a complex of palaces and gardens in present-day Haidian District, Beijing, China.It is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) northwest of the walls of the former Imperial City section of Beijing. Perhaps the western style palaces will be left as ruins and gradually some of the chinese style architecture will be rebuilt. google_ad_width = 300; (prints, tshirts, bags ...), , HD China travel and Chinese culture videos. A few chinese style buildings in the outlying Elegant Spring Garden also survived the fire. The Reconstruction Model of Old Summer Palace in the exhibition hall ... Yuanmingyuan is the biggest garden with three scenic areas: the northwest area, Jiuzhou, and Fuhai Lake. google_ad_channel =""; Even the general maintainance of the gardens is a major task. Only ten percent of them are profitable. However, some experts and scholars from the China Yuanmingyuan Institute, the State Archives Administration and Tsinghua University, Pekin University, support Xu and his replica. google_color_url = "0000EE"; After all this destruction, what was left was truely just an empty shell. Funds will be raised in China and overseas to build the replica and collect cultural treasures from the garden, said Xu Wenrong, chairman of Zhejiang Hengdian Foundation for Chinese Cultural Development. google_color_text = "FFFFFF"; google_ad_width = 300; google_ad_height = 600; YuanMingYuan. Some stone ruins still stand on the site today. google_ad_format = "300x600_as"; Western Style Palaces. "If the replica is billed as a tourist attraction, it might lose a lot of money, given the huge funds needed for its construction," he said. It took 3,500 British troops to set the entire place ablaze and it took three whole days to burn. google_color_text = "FFFFFF"; ChangChunYuan. The Maze. //-->,