https://www.trip.com/moments/detail/beijing-1-12236239
Andy S.

Yuanmingyuan in Beijing

Beijing's Yuanmingyuan Imperial Palace (its name translates from Chinese as "Gardens of Perfect Clarity") is better known as the Old Summer Palace, as opposed to the Yiheyuan Summer Palace. Once upon a time, Yuanmingyuan served as a country residence of Chinese rulers, where the emperor spent almost more time than in the official residence of Gugong - The Forbidden City. At least the emperors of the Qing Dynasty preferred Yuanmingyuan to Gugong, which they used for official receptions. The architectural ensembles of the Yuanmingyuan and Yiheyuan summer palaces were once a single whole. The territory of the palace and park complexes began 8 km northwest of the Forbidden City in the center of Beijing, and continued for many tens of kilometers to the very Western Mountains. The first country residence on the territory of the Summer Palaces, the Golden Hill Palace, was built in 1153 during the Qing Dynasty. Then, almost every emperor of China completed or rebuilt something here. In the 18th century, under the emperor Kangxi, many buildings were erected, the arrangement of gardens began, his son Yongzheng ordered the construction of numerous reservoirs here. And the most large-scale construction of the Old Yuanmingyuan Summer Palace was deployed under Emperor Qianlong in 1746-59, while more time was devoted to the Old Palace, Yiheyuan was built, as it were, “in addition”. European architects took part in the construction of the palace. Yuanmingyuan even got the name "Chinese Versailles", and the garden laid out near it was a real gem of palace park architecture. Its territory was 5 times larger than Gugun and 8 times larger than the Vatican. The palace kept priceless cultural monuments of the Qin and Han dynasties: collections of porcelain, Chinese paintings, books, items made of ivory, jasper, jade, and bronze. Unfortunately, it was Yuanmingyuan that became the biggest victim of time. The infamous fire of 1860, which was preceded by the looting of the imperial residences by European soldiers, destroyed almost all the buildings of the palace ensemble. For the Yiheyuan Summer Palace, these events became the starting point for renewal, but the Old Summer Palace was never restored. The works of art stored in Yuanmingyuan were not buried in the fire, but were smuggled out to Europe. Today, Yuanmingyuan is a picturesque ruins in the thickets of trees - and they look almost like antique, since it is the fragments of buildings in the "Western" style, built of stone, that have survived to this day. The classical "Chinese" part was traditionally built of wood and perished in the fire. The ruins are surrounded by artificial lakes traditional for Chinese parks with picturesque islands and labyrinths of canals. #beijing #china #palace
Posted: Jan 21, 2022
Jisan
Vanilla Bean
Zelpha
Kimbaaaly
55 person liked this
8 Comments
Crying Baby
Crying Baby
Nice❤️
BillyZZ
BillyZZ
Very useful and detailed thanks for sharing
Show more
Submit
55
Mentioned in This Post
Destination

Beijing

200267 attractions | 5655 posts
China
View
Related Moments
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square + Beijing
newyearadventure
china
China Traveler
The Palace Museum
Beijing - The Palace Museum
newyearadventure
china
C Travels
Universal Beijing Resort
Beijing Universal
beijing
beijinguniversalstudio
Tam_Tam
Universal Beijing Resort
Summer Palace
Beichen Green Central Park (South Gate)
Great Architecture in Beijing!!
2024wish
chaoyang
Jvictory
Mutianyu Great Wall
Art Museum of Stone Carvings
Amazing Ginkgo trees in Autumn 🍂
fallingseason
china
Iris-ka
The Great Wall of Gubeikou
The Palace Museum
Discovering The Palace Museum in Beijing
wheretogo
tripmoments
Kenny_on_the_go
798 Art Zone
798 Beijing
beijingtrip
china
poohwubear
Fairmont Beijing
Fairmont Beijing Hotel 🏢
beijingtrip
ukcreator
Barroco