Beijing Yuanmingyuan | Forgotten Time

The Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) was a pinnacle of Qing Dynasty imperial garden design, blending grand palace architecture with exquisite Jiangnan-style landscaping. Spanning 350 hectares, the complex evolved through the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong eras into a masterpiece of cross-cultural design, seamlessly integrating Chinese and Western architectural elements. Following its destruction by Anglo-French forces in 1860, the site today serves as the Yuanmingyuan Ruins Park, standing as a poignant monument to history.