The Old Summer Palace in northern Beijing was overrun ( Second Opium War ) in 1860 by British and French troops who burned and pillaged many of the hundreds of traditional Chinese and Western-inspired pavilions, fountains and gardens reserved for the emperor and his guests.........................."The remnants of the Old Summer Palace are witnesses to that period of history, and no matter where you rebuild it, there's not much value in it," Ruan Yisan, a historian at Tongji University in Shanghai, told local media when talk of Hengdian's plans began to spread.
This is not the first plan to resurrect the ruined gardens, first built from 1707, which featured ornate European-style buildings and fountains designed with the help of Jesuit ( Fr. Jean-Denis Attiret, S.J. ) missionaries.
Several years ago, a Beijing fast food entrepreneur promoted plans to restore parts of the ruins in the capital, only to be shouted down by critics who said the shattered pillars and floors should lie undisturbed as a reminder of the grim past. Xu Jialu, a vice chairman of China's national parliament, said Hengdian would never be able to "clone" the old gardens, based on designs and craft skills that have disappeared. But they would restore some of its "glory and splendour", and remind the world of China's resurgent cultural pride, Xu said.
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