Yuanmingyuan, "The Old Summer Palace" and the New Summer Palace

        So, big news! I'm going on vacation. We aren't quite ready or prepared to go on the Gansu Hexi Corridor trip yet, but we are doing something just as good if not WAY better. Finally, after all these years, I am going to Xi'an! As an extreme lover of history, Xi'an is at the top of the list of cities in China I have always longed but haven't ever had sufficient funds or time to visit, right up there with Zhengzhou and Shaolin temple (as I am also a huge lover of kung fu). We will be spending two days in Xi'an, and then we will be in Beijing for three days. It's national holiday for China, so there is a special version of the morning flag ceremony at 5am which is apparently a "must see." I'm still talking my husband (and myself) around on that one. Tienanmen is the first stop on the first day. We have already made a detailed travel plan, so I can go ahead and tell you all a bit about the historical sites we'll be visiting. By the way, I am buying a new phone with a super good camera on it just in time for this trip, so pictures should be awesome (I hope)!

       











          The first place I would like to talk to you about is not really a world famous tourist spot in Beijing, but out of all the places I am going to visit, it is the story that has left the strongest impression on me. It has many names: "The Old Summer Palace", "The Garden of Perfect Brightness", but it is, as far as I can tell, mostly called Yuanmingyuan (圆明园), which is actually just the garden of perfect brightness in Chinese. So, why do I care so much about this garden in Beijing that you most likely haven't even heard of before. Well, to put it in few words, it was beautiful, massive, so very unique, and today almost completely does not exist, because life is not fair and people are terrible! Of course, this explains nothing, so let me give a little more detail.
       It is often mentioned that the forbidden city, the capital of the Chinese empire and the center of the government, was uncomfortable to live in during the summer due to the heat, so the emperor would retreat to a separate location during this time. That location was Yuanmingyuan, as well as Yiheyuan, which has a history dating back to the Jin dynasty. Today, you can visit both of these palaces in Beijing, but you might not (definitely won't) see the same things that the emperors saw when they lived there.   
       
             Yuanmingyuan was an amazing construction project that was erected during the Qing dynasty. Starting from the reign of the emperor Kangxi, new constructions were continuously added, making it a massive pleasure palace. When I first learned about this place, I was completely taken in by it's vastness as well as it's unique construction. Unlike other palaces in China, Yuanmingyuan was designed as a fusion of traditional Chinese designs and western architecture. The most famous location in the garden was probably the huge water fountain with the heads of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.
             When I was learning the history of Yuanmingyuan, I listened attentively, planning my vacation to Beijing as I listened, wondering why I had never heard of this place before, and not knowing what type of ending the story would have. Unfortunately, I was fated to be let down. At the end of the Second Opium War, British and French troops were led into Yuanmingyuan and told to loot and burn it as quickly as possible. Almost the entire palace was destroyed, and a large number of the beautiful artifacts inside were lost or smashed to pieces. When I heard this, I really cried. I had no idea! I watched several videos relating to this trying to find out why such a thing was necessary. According to one video, due to unfair treatment of foreign prisoners, a choice had to be made weather to burn the Forbidden City or burn Yuanmingyuan. The foreign invaders chose to burn Yuanmingyuan, because it belonged to the emperor, and not to the Qing government. In my mind, this sounds like someone trying to justify something that is wrong. The palace was attacked a few more times during the boxer rebellion and the cultural revolution, leaving the little that we can see today if we were to travel to Beijing. Now, we can only dream of what the magnificent Yuanmingyuan must have looked like before it was destroyed, never to be seem again.

       After learning about the tragic tale of Yuanmingyuan, I searched for more resources to learn as much as I could. I found a Chinese movie called "The Burning of Yuanmingyuan," which I have included below along with a documentary about the palace. I hope you will consider checking it out.

The New Summer Palace/ Yiheyuan (颐和园)

         The New Summer Palace has a history dating back to the Jin dynasty, but it didn't become a summer palace until the reign of emperor Qianlong during the Qing Dynasty. At the end of the Second Opium War, Yiheyuan received similar treatment to Yuanmingyuan, being looted by French and British troops. However, the New Summer Palace was partially rebuilt by Empress Dowager Cixi in celebration of her 60th birthday. Afterward, it was destroyed and rebuilt again. After the overthrowing of the Qing government, Yiheyuan was owned by the last emperor of China, Puyi before he was finally kicked out and fled to the Japanese. It later became a tourist attraction, which we can now all go to see.
         There are so many points of interest in the Summer Palace which I am not as familiar with as other locations. I will go more in depth after we have been there. Two places I found rather interesting are the Farming and Weaving Scenic Area and Suzhou Street. The Farming and Weaving Area was designed like an authentic peasant farm, so that the emperor and his court could see a simulation of what life was like outside of the palace. Suzhou Street simulated a busy shopping center outside of the palace walls. Here the emperor and his family could pretend to do business with the common folk. Of course, all the farmers and shop keepers were all really servants in disguise. These two locations were both destroyed at the end of the Second Opium War, but Suzhou Street was rebuilt by Cixi, and the Farming and Weaving Scenic Area was renovated in modern times.
          This scene reminds me of the famous Chinese novel, Dream of the Red Mansion. In the first third of the book, an area is designed to be a visitation home for a member of the family who has become an imperial concubine. There is one area of the house which is a simulation of a peasant farm, which they name "Sweet Rice Village." They even say they are going to put ducks, chickens, and geese in the garden to make it more authentic and increase the natural feeling.
              I have been told that this palace is most famous for it's man made body of water, Kunming Lake along with Longevity Hill, which was made with the land displaced from the construction of the lake. Most of the grand buildings and scenery are in this area. I am expecting to see and hear a lot about the Empress Dowager Cixi's life there as well as about the famous Qing emperor Qianlong. You can look forward to my pictures and further explanation possibly next month.

            I think I'll leave it here for now. Look forward to learning more after I get back from my trip. In my next post I think I will be talking about the very first location I will be visiting on my trip, the Terracotta Army.