The Summer Palace

Garden of Clear Ripples

In 1750 to honor the birthday of the Dowager Empress Xiao Shen, a lake was dug and a hill created with the rock and soil from the excavation. The construction took 15 years. In 1860, the Anglo-French Allied Forces invaded Beijing and this palace was looted and destroyed. In 1888 the Empress Dowages Ci Xi used funds allocated for the establishment of the Imperial Navy to rebuild this palace. The new palace was renamed Yiheyuan (the Summer Palace). In 1900, when the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing, the Summer Palace fell into another disaster. In 1902 Empress Dowager Ci Xi ordered reconstruction of the Summer Palace in one year. In 1914 it opened to the public.