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Revenge. It took 4,000 British and French soldiers three whole days of spiteful violence to burn the palace complex to the ground — an attack regarded as the single largest act of vandalism in China's modern history. More than 300 maids and eunuchs were torched to death while they were hiding from the intruders.

Historians usually consider the defensive walls built during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE) and the Warring States period (475–221 BCE) to be the first sections of what would eventually become the structure known as the Great Wall of China, putting the wall at almost 3,000 years old.

The Summer Palace (simplified Chinese: 颐和园; traditional Chinese: 頤和園; pinyin: Yíhéyuán) is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden in the Qing dynasty. Inside includes Longevity Hill (万寿山; 萬壽山; Wànshòu Shān) Kunming Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge.

Great Wall of China location is mainly in northern China, and there are a few sections in southern China called southern Great Wall. The vast majority of the Great Wall we see today was built in Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644); they are mostly preserved in Beijing.Jul 23, 2020

After construction of the entire 800 acre old Summer Palace complex was completed, it was adopted as the principal imperial residence of the Qing emperors. The Forbidden City itself was mostly used for formal ceremonies. Before its destruction, the Qing emperors spent most of their time living in the old Summer Palace.Jun 28, 2021

• Therefore after three emperors’ great efforts, Yuanmingyuan became a brilliant imperial garden that covered 350 hectares, much larger than the then Summer Palace.

• Old Summer Palace Pictures. Also known as the Ruins of the Yuanmingyuan (the Garden of Perfection and Light), the Old Summer Palace is located northwest of Beijing and to the east of the present-day Summer Palace.

• Yuanmingyuan was originally founded in the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1661–1722) in 1709 as a gift to his fourth son, Emperor Yongzheng (1678–1735). After Emperor Yongzheng ascended to the throne, the Old Summer Palace continued to expand. The construction and expansion lasted for 150 years.

• As a large scale royal garden, Yuanmingyuan takes water as its theme. Rockeries, hills, pavilions, small isles, bridges, and crooked corridor split the vast area. A lot of replicas of other famous garden can be found with important temples, hundreds of Buddhist statues made of gold, silver, bronze and jade as well as countless other treasures.

Old Summer Palace Pictures. Also known as the Ruins of the Yuanmingyuan (the Garden of Perfection and Light), the Old Summer Palace is located northwest of Beijing and to the east of the present-day Summer Palace.

Yuanmingyuan was originally founded in the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1661–1722) in 1709 as a gift to his fourth son, Emperor Yongzheng (1678–1735). After Emperor Yongzheng ascended to the throne, the Old Summer Palace continued to expand. The construction and expansion lasted for 150 years.

These three gardens are often referred to as one common name: Yuanmingyuan. Hundreds of scenic spots in the Garden are made up of exquisitely constructed halls, pavilions, chambers, kiosks, earth and rock hills, rivers and ponds, and exotic flowers and grasses from different parts of the country.

Later in the century, the Empress Dowager Cixi built a new imperial garden named the Yiheyuan (Cheerful Harmony Garden 頤和園) in a nearby location. Today it is maintained as a major tourist site generally called the New Summer Palace, to distinguish it from the Yuanmingyuan, or “Old Summer Palace.”