1. It was burned by the British and French forces: In August of the 10th year of Xianfeng (1860), the British and French forces invaded Beijing. On October 18, he led the invading army of more than 3,500 people to the Old Summer Palace. After the British and French invaders looted the Old Summer Palace, in order to eliminate traces of the loot, the British Minister Plenipotentiary Elgin, with the support of British Prime Minister Palmerston, ordered the Old Summer Palace to be burned down. The fire burned for three days and nights, turning this world-famous garden into ruins.

As the famous French writer Hugo described and criticized: One day, two robbers broke into the Old Summer Palace. One plundered and the other set fire to it. One of the two robbers was named France (France) , an Anglia (UK).

2. Burning the Old Summer Palace is a common popular saying. In fact, the burning of the Old Summer Palace did not only burn the Old Summer Palace, but also burned the three mountains and five gardens. The area burned was far larger than that of the Old Summer Palace. The three mountains and five gardens are, three mountains: Wanshou Mountain, Yuquan Mountain, and Xiangshan Mountain; five gardens: Qingyi Garden, Old Summer Palace, Changchun Garden, Jingming Garden, and Jingyi Garden.

Extended information:

Protection and renovation of the Old Summer Palace

In 1949, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government attached great importance to the protection of the Old Summer Palace site. It has been listed as park land and a key cultural relic protection unit, the dry land in the park has been expropriated, and large-scale tree planting and greening has been carried out.

After the formal establishment of the Old Summer Palace Management Office in 1976, significant progress has been made in site protection and landscaping, with improvements year by year. The number of visitors to the garden to pay their respects has increased significantly. ?

In 1983, the "Beijing Urban Construction Master Plan" approved by the State Council clearly planned the Old Summer Palace as a heritage park. After two years of renovation and improvement, the heritage park began to take shape. On June 29, 1988, it was officially opened to the public for ticket sales. The number of visitors to the park has exceeded 10 million.

On December 13, 2002, the Zhengjue Temple renovation project in Beijing's Old Summer Palace was officially invited to bid. Zhengjue Temple was once a royal Buddhist temple for members of the Qing Dynasty royal family. Because it was located outside the walls of Qichun Garden, it became the only ancient building that survived the burning of Old Summer Palace by the British and French forces.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Old Summer Palace