Summer Palace Museum Wonders: Stunning Artifacts

#chinatrip The Museum of YiHeYuan is a best way to get familiar with this remarkable place. First, a little bit of history… During the era of the last imperial Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), several new imperial country residences were built in China. Their characteristic feature is splendor, richness of architectural forms, and sophisticated intricacy. One of the main ensembles of Qing China was the Yiheyuan Country Palace, the summer residence of the emperors, built 15 kilometers from Beijing on Mount Wanshoushan. The history of the palace dates back more than eight centuries. Back in the Jin Dynasty (265 to 316), a luxurious imperial residence was built here, called the Golden Palace. In 1750, the Hongli Emperor (Qianlong), whose name is associated with the period of "splendor and prosperity of the empire", in order to celebrate his mother's birthday, laid out a garden with numerous palace buildings and a pagoda on the site of the old palace, spending 4.48 million liang silver (liang is about 31.2 g). The construction of Yiheyuan continued in the following years. Originally, the palace was called the "Garden of Light Ripples" (meaning the ripples on the Kunming Lake). In 1860, during the Taiping Rebellion, soldiers of the Anglo-French expeditionary force invading China burned down part of the palace buildings. 16 years later, Empress Cixi, who loved this country residence very much, began to rebuild the ruined palace. The work continued for ten years and was completed in 1895. The Empress gave the restored palace a new name: Yiheyuan "Garden of Peace and Harmony". Many relics were lost during different periods of history, but YiHeYuan museum offers a very interesting collection of artifacts to represent the spirit of this place. Many artifacts and handcraft master peaces are absolutely unique and have not been found anywhere yet. It really worth to go to the museum to check the collection and to familiarize yourself with the history of such charming place.