Old Summer Palace

The Old Summer Palace, known in China as the Gardens of Perfect Brightness ({{zh-cp|c=圆明园 / 圓明園|p=Yuánmíng Yuán}}), and originally called the Imperial Gardens ({{zh-cp|c=御園|p=Yù Yuán}}), was an extremely large complex of palaces and gardens 8 km (5 miles) northwest of the walls of Beijing, built in the 18th and early 19th century, where the emperors of the Qing Dynasty resided and handled government affairs, the Forbidden City inside Beijing being used only for formal ceremonies. Also known to be one of the largest museums in the world (a popular name in China was the "Garden of Gardens", 萬園之園), the Imperial Gardens were entirely destroyed by British and French troops in 1860. Today, the destruction of the Gardens of Perfect Brightness is still felt inside China as a vivid symbol of foreign aggression and humiliation.

Future

There are currently some projects in China to rebuild the Imperial Gardens, but this appears as a colossal undertaking, and no rebuilding of above-the-ground structures has started yet. 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. However, some members of the Chinese government are fiercely opposed to the rebuilding, considering that the ruined site as it is will teach future Chinese generations about the price of being dominated and humiliated by foreign powers.

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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 a 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.

Related Topics:
2005 - Lanzhou University

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A partial copy of the palace was built recently in the southern city of Zhuhai, in Guangdong province, as an amusement park.

Related Topics:
Zhuhai - Guangdong

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