Imperial GardenYuan Ming Yuan

For Chinese, the name Yuan Ming Yuan represents not only glory but also tears. If you had ever seen the ruins, maybe you will understand why the Chinese refuse to rebuild it and why we refused to buy back the relics from the auction.

Yuan Ming Yuan, also known as the Garden of Gardens or Versailles of the East，was an extensive collection of gardens, architectures and other works of art.

It was built in the 18th and early 19th century. During Qing Dynasty, it was the place where the emperors resided and handled government affairs.

Consisted of three gardens, namely Yuanmingyuan, Changchunyuan and Qichunyuan, it covered an area of 3.5 km2 (865 acres), 8 times the size of the Vatican City.

The garden collected hundreds of structures, including halls, pavilions, lakes, galleries, temples, etc. Some famous scenery sites of southern China had been reproduced in the garden. It also stored hundreds of masterpieces of Chinese art, antiquities, unique copies of literary work and compilations, making the garden one of the largest collections in the world at that time.

However, it was destroyed by the Anglo-French forces during the Second Opium War in 1860. The Garden was burnt down and a large number of collections were plundered by the forces.

Its construction took place over 150 years. However, all the glory was burnt to ground at last. The fire even lasted two days, wiping out almost all the treasure! To Chinese, Yuan Ming Yuan will be a memory forever. It used to be the treasure for all the people all around the world, but now only regret left there.

Today, when we standing on the rotten stone, all that we can do is just imagining its glory past.

Tips:
Tickets Cost: Entrance ticket 10 yuan (park), + 10 yuan for ruin area
Opening Hours: 07:00 to 17:30 (winter) 07:00 to 19:00 (summer)
Bus Route: 331, 365, 375, 706, 806, 814…

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