YuanMingYuan
(Old Summer Palace)

The garden was already in use in the 12th century AD during the Liao (Khitan) dynasty, but major construction was only started in 1709, during the 48th year of the reign of Qing Emperor KangXi.

In 1725, under Emperor YongZheng, the Imperial Gardens was greatly expanded. YongZheng introduced many of the lakes, streams and ponds which greatly complimented the rolling hills and grounds. He named 28 scenic spots within the garden.

By Emperor Qianlong's reign, the second expansion was well underway. QianLong took a personal interest and directed the work. QianLong increased the scenic spots of the gardens to 40 in number.

By the middle of the 19th century, the Imperial Gardens had undergone expansion in one form or another for over 150 years to become the largest and most magnificent emperial garden in the world.

YuanMingYuan was unique in that it was not only based on traditional Chinese gardening arts - Western techniques and styles were also integrated into it.

YuanMingYuan was actually comprised of three gardens centered on FuHai Lake ('Sea of Happiness'): YuanMingYuan (Garden of Perfection and Brightness, the largest) in the west, ChangChungYuan (Garden of Everlasting Spring) lying in the east, and WangChungYuan (Garden of Ten-thousand Springs) in the south.

The two smaller gardens were added during Emperor QianLong's reign. The Garden of Ten Thousand (i.e. Eternal) Springs (WangChungYuan) was also known as YiChunYuan (Garden of Exquisite Spring).

In total, they covered a huge area of 3.5 km² (865 acres). This is 5 times the size of the Forbidden City and 8 times the size of the Vatican City. And roughly twice the size of the new Summer Palace (YiHeYuan).

These gardens formed a resort used by the feudal rulers for rest and pleasure as well as for holding audiences and attending to state affairs. Its unique architectures and accompanying scenery embodied the finest styles found in scenic spots and places of interests both in China and abroad.

Most of the buildings were in the best traditional Chinese palace architectural styles, while occidental styles of arts in palace construction were also absorbed to produce a harmonious combination.

One example was the 'Western Palaces' in ChangChungYuan, of which the main body was modelled on Baroque and italian renaissance style but topped with traditional Chinese glazed-tile roofs. The buildings here included the Observatory and Hall of Tranquility, which were decorated with fine fountains and pools in the style of Versailles.

As a creation, the perfect combination of Chinese and western architectures added a fresh look to the gardens. Construction of these started in the tenth year of Emperor QianLong's reign, 1746.

One-third of the ground of YuanMingYuan was taken up by over 200 small hills with precipitous cliffs, secluded valleys, steep rock walls and stone caves.

Half of the garderns are covered by the waters of the vast lake and the serpentine streams and ponds. There were originally towers, terraces, pavilions, halls, corridors, pagodas and bridges with a total construction area of 150,000 square meters, corresponding to that of the Imperial Palace. Artisans were recruited from all over China to enact the exquisite settings.

The multifarious architectures standing encircled by hills and rivulets and amidst beautiful flowers and exquisite waters, presented a most picturesque view. Of the total 160 scenic attractions, many were reproductions of scenic mountains and rivers and famous gardens in China (mostly southern China), including West Lake in HangZhou.

During his many tours of the country, Emperor QianLong made it a point to have pictures of famous gardens and scenes drawn so that he could have replicas built in Beijing. Most famous of these were the ten scenic spots of the West Lake in HangZhou.

In addition, hundreds of invaluable Chinese art masterpieces and antiquities were stored in the halls, including some unique copies of literary works and collections. This made the Imperial Gardens one of the largest museums in the world.