Visit The Old Summer Palace in Beijing
Beijing Trip to Explore the History and Culture of Yuan Ming Yuan
Mar 23, 2009
The crumbling figure of a stone lion stands guard over tumbled ruins near what was once a peaceful retreat for the Chinese royal family. This is the Old Summer Palace, Yuan Ming Yuan in Chinese, one of the most heartbreaking tourist sites on any Beijing holiday.
Unlike the Summer Palace (Yi He Yuan), the Old Summer Palace was never restored to its former glory after its destruction in 1860. The resulting park is both a beautiful collection of natural and scenic waterways and a testament to the destructive power of war.
History of Yuan Ming Yuan - the Old Summer Palace
Portions of the Old Summer Palace were first built in 1707, during the early Qing dynasty, and were completed over the course of 150 years. Nearly five times the size of the Forbidden City and double that of the Summer Palace, this was the largest palace complex in Beijing. In the heyday of the Qing dynasty, it was a playground for emperors and their guests from all around the world.
Unfortunately for future visitors on a Beijing trip, when French and British forces invaded in 1860, they burnt most of the halls, bridges and pavilions to the ground. The few areas that escaped destruction at that time were almost all destroyed during a later invasion in 1900 by the Eight-Nation Alliance.
One of the saddest parts of the history of the Old Summer Palace is that its destruction resulted in the loss of architectural wonders not found anywhere else in the world. One section of the complex was designed in part by western Jesuit priests and had marble and stone buildings that blended European and Chinese architectural styles.
Exploring and Beijing Holiday Sightseeing at the Old Summer Palace
Many visitors to the Old Summer Palace are disappointed at how few things there are to see and how they are scattered across such a large area. The destruction was so complete that most of the park is now only walking paths and lakeside views. Knowing where the ruins are can help visitors get a grasp of the site.
Most visitors on a Beijing trip to the palace enter through the south gate, considered the main entrance to the park. Following pathways to the west, visitors can find a restored Chinese-style building, a restored bridge and the partial remains of a ruined bridge arching over a stream.
Other ruins in the form of piles of stone or platforms where buildings once stood ring the lakes in the northwest and center of the park. However, the most important and complete ruins are at the northeast corner of the park. Here, the "Western Mansions" (Xi Yang Lou) once stood north of an area called the Eternal Spring Garden. Visitors now wander the remains of marble staircases leading to nowhere and towering columns reaching toward the sky with no building to support. A stone labyrinth has been recreated and visitors can traverse the maze as emperors and concubines once did.
Nearby, an exhibition hall with scale models of the entire area and photos of the structures taken in the 1800s give visitors an idea of what everything looked like before it was destroyed.
After exploring the ruins, many visitors head to the Fuhai lake at the center of the park to catch photos of sunset against the backdrop of the western hills. The past glory of the site may be gone, but the Old Summer Palace still has much to teach visitors.
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