Yuanmingyuan-Old Summer Palace

Yuanmingyuan-The Old Summer Palace, known in China as the Gardens of Perfect Brightness and originally called the Imperial Gardens. it is a famous travel spot in Beijing, and most people would call it the Ruins of Yuanmingyuan Park. It was a complex of palaces and gardens 8 kilometres northwest of the walls of the Imperial City of Beijing. The Old Summer Palace was built in the 18th and early 19th century, where the emperors of the Qing Dynasty resided and handled government affairs (the Forbidden City was used only for formal ceremonies). Known for its extensive collection of garden and building architectures and other works of art (a popular name in China was the "Garden of Gardens", the Imperial Gardens were destroyed by British and French troops in 1860 during the Second Opium War. Today, the destruction of the Gardens of Perfect

Brightness is still regarded as a symbol of foreign aggression and humiliation in China.Yuanmingyuan was not only famed for its beauty. It was also an imperial museum with a vast collection of cultural treasures. The French writer Victor Hugo once remarked, "With all its treasures, Notre Dame in Paris is no match for Yuanmingyuan, that enormous and magnificent museum in the East." Furniture made of red sandalwood decorated the numerous halls in which countless rare cultural relics were on display. As one of the four most famous imperial libraries, the Wenyuan Hall (Hall of Literary Profundity) in the garden originally housed such precious ancient books as The Complete Library of Four Branches of Books, Gems of the Complete Library of

Four Branches of Books, and The Completed Collection of Graphs and Writings of Ancient and Modern Times. Having been open to the public for a decade. The Old Summer Palace or Yuanmingyuan still has a long way to go to become a full-fledged park of historic ruins. For example, its western part is crying for development , and more funds are needed for this, as well as for many other purposes. The Administrative Office is making every effort to tackle these difficulties so that they can complete the restoration of the park in the early 21th century. Here are some guide information for your tour to The Old Summer Palace: Address: 28 Qinghua West Road, Haidian District, Beijing. Admission Fee: CNY 10 for the main entrance, CNY 15 for the Sites of European Palaces, CNY 10 for Exhibition Hall of Yuanmingyuan,  Openning Hours: 07:00-19:00 (May-August), 07:00-18:30 (April, September and October), 07:00-17:30 (January, February, March, November and December),  Contact Number: 86-10-62628501