hkskyline's 2024 in BEIJING

[hkskyline]

Yuan Ming Yuan, or the Old Summer Palace, was dubbed the "Versailles of the East". Spread across 350 hectares of landscaped gardens, it was a set of 5 residences for the Qing rulers, with construction starting in the early 18th century. Each residence has its own building, artificial lakes, and water systems, meant to become a miniature model of the lands under the emperor's rule. There were also European-style buildings as well with stone facades built over Chinese wood frames that were designed by Jesuit missionaries.

Today, it lies in ruins, ransacked, looted, then burned to the ground by Anglo-French forces during the Second Opium War in retribution for several negotiators being killed while persuading for a Chinese surrender. Many stolen artworks have made their way to collections in Europe, and occasionally at auction houses.

Let's start at the entrance and the long walk to the interesting parts of the vast park.























A scale model shows just how big this place is.









More photos : http://www.globalphotos.org/beijing.htm