China Beijing Old Summer Palace

The Old Summer Palace was a famous imperial garden in the Qing Dynasty. It consisted of three areas: Yuanmingyuan, Changchunyuan and Qichunyuan. Historically, it was incredibly magnificent and beautiful, and had the reputation of being “the garden of gardens”. In 1860, the Anglo-French allied forces burned the main buildings to the ground. Today, tourists can only mourn among the ruins and search for the.

Old Summer Palace

The landscape of the Old Summer Palace is dominated by water features, with both vast, calm lakes and narrow, fast-flowing streams.The Yuanmingyuan Garden is mainly composed of two areas: the Fuhai Scenic Area and the Houhu Scenic Area.

Fuhai is the name of the water area in the garden, which means “fortune like the East China Sea”. It was the water recreation center of the imperial garden at the time.In the middle of the sea are three square islands of different sizes connected by bridges.Along the perimeter of Fuhai are numerous small water features, complemented by rock formations and mounds of earth, creating nearly 100 natural spaces with overlapping layers and water features that seem like a natural creation.

The Houhu Scenic Area is located in the west of Fuhai. Nine small islands have been built around Houhu, symbolizing the “nine provinces” of the country.Each island has its own unique landscaping, which complement each other.

Qichun Garden

Also known as Wanchun Garden, it consists of the Bamboo Garden, Hanhui Garden, Xishuang Village, and the northern half of Chunhe Garden. It was one of the main places where the Jiaqing Emperor of the Qing Dynasty lived in the garden for many years. After the Daoguang Emperor, it was mainly used as a place for the empress dowager and imperial concubines to live in the garden.place.There are many small attractions throughout the garden, which is a large collection of miniature water gardens.

Today, Qichun Garden is the main venue for the Lotus Flower Festival held every year in Yuanmingyuan.Large areas of lotus flowers are planted on the surface of the water in the garden. In midsummer, the lotus flowers bloom in full glory, turning the entire Qichun Garden into a sea of colorful flowers.Paddling in a boat and weaving through the lotus leaves is also a great experience.

Changchun Garden

Changchun Garden is dominated by large water features.The core buildings of that time, including the Jingtang Building Complex, were magnificent in scale. The layout was based on that of the Ningshou Gong in the Forbidden City, and it was the residence where Emperor Qianlong often lived after he abdicated.In the northeast corner of the park is Shizilin Garden, which was modeled after Suzhou’s Shizilin Garden.In the northwest corner of the park is a series of European-style garden buildings, commonly known as the “Western-style buildings”, where the well-known “Grand Water Method” is located.

In addition, there are more than ten buildings and gardens, such as Xieqi Qu, Xianfaqiao, Haiyantang, Yuanyingguan, Guanshuifa, Xianfa Mountain and Xianfa Wall. However, only the ruins remain, and one can only imagine the grand occasion of those years in the ruins.

The Huanghua Array in the Yuanmingyuan Western-style Building Scenic Area is a rectangular maze built in imitation of the European style.In those days, the palace ladies and eunuchs played here, while the emperor and his concubines sat on the high platform watching. Since the palace ladies held palace lanterns made of yellow flowers, it was called the “yellow flower array”.When visiting the garden, you must take a walk through this maze to experience the atmosphere of the people and the emperor having fun together back then.

Watch the exhibition and documentary

A looting by the Anglo-French allied forces in 1860 destroyed the famous garden, and the spectacular scenes of that time no longer exist.If your imagination can’t take you there, you can experience the splendor of the time through the explanations of the guides at the “Panoramic Model Exhibition of the Glorious Era of the Old Summer Palace” at Changchun Park.Address: Southeast of the site of the Western-style buildings in Changchun Park, northeast of the Hall of Buddhist Sutras.

In addition, the Yuanmingyuan Exhibition Hall, located in the area of the ruins of the Western-style Building, will show the large-scale documentary film “Yuanmingyuan” on a loop from 8:30 to 17:00 every day, helping people to more intuitively experience the grand splendor of the famous garden of that era.