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History Initial construction began in 1707, during the reign Emperor Kangxi and was on a much smaller scale. It was intended as a gift for the emperor's fourth son, later Emperor Yongzheng. In 1725, under Emperor Yongzheng, the Imperial Gardens was greatly expanded. Yongzheng introduced the waterworks of the gardens which created some of the lakes, streams and ponds which greatly complemented the rolling hills and grounds. Yongzheng also named 28 scenic spots within the garden. By Emperor Qianlong's reign, the second expansion was well underway. Qianlong personally took interest and directed the expansion works. Qianlong also increased the scenic spots of the gardens to 40. By the middle of the 19th century, the Imperial Gardens have undergone expansion in one form or another for over 150 years. Overview of the site
Destruction
Aftermath Following this cultural catastrophe, the imperial court was forced to relocate to the old and austere Forbidden City where it stayed until 1924, when the Last Emperor was expelled by a republican army. Empress dowager Cixi built the Summer Palace (頤和園 - "The Garden of Nurtured Harmony") near the Old Summer Palace, but on a much smaller scale than the Old Summer Palace. Only the European-style palaces survived the fire since - unlike the Chinese-style structures - they were made of stone . A few ruined stones of these European buildings still stand on the site today. This is maybe why unknowing visitors sometimes wrongly assume that the Old Summer Palace was made up only of European-style buildings. A few Chinese-style buildings in the outlying Elegant Spring Garden also survived the fire. The Chinese imperial court restored these buildings and tried to rebuild the whole complex of the Imperial Gardens, but it was impossible to muster the money and resources for such an immense task due to the difficult situation of China at the time. In 1900, whatever buildings had survived or had been restored were burnt for good by the Western expeditionary forces sent to quell the Boxer Rebellion. Most of the site was left abandoned and used by local farmers as agricultural land. Only in the 1980s was the site reclaimed by the Chinese government and turned into an historical site. Future There are currently some projects in China to rebuild the Imperial Gardens, but such moves are opposed on the grounds that they will destroy an important relic of modern Chinese history. Some members of the Chinese government consider that the ruined site as it is will teach future Chinese generations about the price of being dominated and humiliated by foreign powers. In addition, any rebuilding would be a colossal undertaking, and no rebuilding of above-the-ground structures has been approved. However, the lakes and waterways in the eastern half of the gardens have been dug up again and refilled with water, while hills around the lakes have been cleared of brushwood, recreating long forgotten vistas. In February 2005, work was undertaken to reduce water loss from the lakes and canals in the Yuanmingyuan by covering a total of 1.33 square kilometres of their beds with a membrane to reduce seepage. The park administration has argued that prevention of water loss saves the park money, since water would have to be added to the lakes only once per year instead of three times. However, opponents of the project such as Professor Zhengchun Zhang of Lanzhou University fear that the measure will destroy the ecology of the park, which depends on the water seepage from the lakes and the connection between the lakes and the underground water system. It is also feared that reduced seepage from the lakes will disturb Beijing's underground water system which is already suffering from depletion. There are also concerns about the gardens, which are a designated heritage site of the city of Beijing, changing their natural appearance. This issue, when brought into the sight of the general public several weeks later, immediately caused an uproar from the press and became one of the hottest debates on the Chinese Internet due to the still-painful memory of foreign humiliation epitomized in the destruction of this once "Garden of Gardens (萬園之園)". The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau (BEPB) is now (April 2005) conducting an assessment of the environmental impact of the measure. A partial copy of the palace was built recently in the southern city of Zhuhai, in Guangdong province, as an amusement park. Location The Old Summer Palace is located just outside the west gate of Tsinghua University, north of Peking University, and east of the Summer Palace. The postal address is: 28 Qinghua West Road, Beijing, 100084. Modern photographs and historic depictions Image:20020511081400_-_Old_Summer_Palace.jpg|A corner in the Old Summer Palace Image:Yuanmingyuanlakewithoutwater.jpg|Lake in the Yuan Ming Yuan without water Image:Lcv5r8tpalace-yuen-peking-Allom.jpg|Historic drawing Image:Yuanmingyuan haiyan.jpg|Historic drawing Image:Huanghuazhen.jpg|Huang Hua Zhen in the Western Mansions area Image:Fangwaiguan.jpg|Ruins of the Fang Wai Guan Image:Yuanmingyuan_creek.JPG|A stoneboat in the Yuan Ming Yuan Image:Yuanmingyuan_lake2.jpg|Fuhai Lake See also | ||||||||||||||
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