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.

Overview of the site

The Imperial Gardens were made up of three gardens: the Garden of Perfect Brightness proper, the Garden of Eternal Spring ({{zh-cp|c=長春園|p=Chángchūn Yuán}}), and the Elegant Spring Garden ({{zh-cp|c=綺春園|p=Qǐchūn Yuán}}); they covered a huge area of 3.5 km² (865 acres). They were almost 5 times the size of the Forbidden City, and 8 times the size of the Vatican City. They had hundreds of halls, pavilions, temples, galleries, gardens, lakes, etc. Several famous landscapes of southern China had been reproduced in the Imperial Gardens, hundreds of invaluable Chinese art masterpieces and antiquities were stored in the halls, making the Imperial Gardens one of the largest museums in the world. Some unique copies of literary work and compilations were also stored inside the Imperial Gardens.

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The Old Summer Palace is often associated with European-style palaces (Xi Yang Lou) built of stone. The designers of these structures, the Jesuits Giuseppe Castiglione and Michel Benoist, were employed by Emperor Qianlong to satisfy his taste for exotic buildings and objects. Sometimes, visitors unfamiliar with the former layout of the Old Summer Palace are misled to believe that it consisted primarily of European-style palaces. In fact, the area of the Imperial Gardens at the back of the Eternal Spring garden where the European-style buildings were located was extremely small compared to the overall area of the gardens. More than 95% of the Imperial Gardens were made up of essentially Chinese-style buildings. There were also a few buildings in Tibetan and Mongol styles, reflecting the diversity of the Qing Empire.

Related Topics:
European-style palaces - Jesuit - Giuseppe Castiglione - Michel Benoist - Emperor Qianlong

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