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5 Star Shanxi Grand Hotel
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5 Star Shanxi Grand Hotel is a 5 star hotel which is located between South 2nd ring road and...
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China: Search for areas
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Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Bejing
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The Old Summer Palace, also known in China as the Gardens of Perfect Brightness ( Chinese: 圆明园; pinyin: Yuánmíng Yuán, referred to in many books as Yuan Ming Yuan), and originally called the Imperial Gardens (Chinese: 御園; pinyin: Yù Yuán), was a complex of palaces and gardens 8 km (5 miles) northwest of the walls of Beijing, built in the 18th and early 19th century, where the emperors of the Qing Dynasty resided and handled government affairs (the Forbidden City inside Beijing 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", 萬園之園), the Imperial Gardens were entirely destroyed by troops from Britain and France in 1860. Today, the destruction of the Gardens of Perfect Brightness is still regarded as a symbol of foreign aggression and humiliation in China.
The Imperial Gardens were made up of three gardens: the Garden of Perfect Brightness proper, the Garden of Eternal Spring (Chinese: 長春園; pinyin: Chángchūn Yuán), and the Elegant Spring Garden (Chinese: 綺春園; pinyin: Qǐchūn Yuán); together they covered an area of 3.5 km² (865 acres). They were almost 5 times the size of the Forbidden City, and 8 times the size of the Vatican City. They had hundreds of halls, pavilions, temples, galleries, gardens, lakes, etc. Several famous landscapes of southern China had been reproduced in the Imperial Gardens, hundreds of invaluable Chinese art masterpieces and antiquities were stored in the halls, making the Imperial Gardens one of the largest museums in the world. Some unique copies of literary work and compilations were also stored inside the Imperial Gardens.
The Old Summer Palace is often associated with the European-style palaces (Xi Yang Lou) built of stone. The designers of these structures, the Jesuits Giuseppe Castiglione and Michel Benoist, were employed by Emperor Qianlong to satisfy his taste for exotic buildings and objects. Sometimes, visitors unfamiliar with the former layout of the Old Summer Palace are misled to believe that it consisted primarily of European-style palaces. In fact, the area of the Imperial Gardens at the back of the Eternal Spring garden where the European-style buildings were located was small compared to the overall area of the gardens. More than 95% of the Imperial Gardens were made up of essentially Chinese-style buildings. There were also a few buildings in Tibetan and Mongol styles, reflecting the diversity of the Qing Empire.
There are currently some projects in China to rebuild the Imperial Gardens, but such moves are opposed on the grounds that they will destroy an important relic of modern Chinese history. Some members of the Chinese government consider that the ruined site as it is will teach future Chinese generations about the price of being dominated and humiliated by foreign powers. In addition, any rebuilding would be a colossal undertaking, and no rebuilding of above-the-ground structures has been approved. However, the lakes and waterways in the eastern half of the gardens have been dug up again and refilled with water, while hills around the lakes have been cleared of brushwood, recreating long forgotten vistas.
The Old Summer Palace is located just outside the west gate of Tsinghua University, north of Peking University, and east of the Summer Palace.
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