In the tenth year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty (1860), after the British and French allied forces captured Beijing, they occupied Yuanmingyuan on1October 6. China's defenders were outnumbered, and Wen Feng, the chief minister of Yuanmingyuan, committed suicide by throwing himself into Fuhai, and Chang Ai, who lived in the garden, was frightened to death. Two days after the British and French troops looted, they marched into the city. 1October 1 1 Japanese British troops sent1more than 200 cavalry and an infantry regiment to rob Yuanmingyuan again. James Bruce, the British plenipotentiary, took Parkes and others as an excuse and put the burning of Yuanmingyuan on the agenda and a prerequisite. 10 18, 3,500 British troops rushed into Yuanmingyuan and set it on fire. The fire did not go out for three days, and the Yuanmingyuan and its nearby Qingyi Garden, Jingming Garden, Jingyi Garden, Changchun Garden and Haidian Town were all burned into ruins. Nearly 300 eunuchs, maids and craftsmen were buried in the fire in Anyou Palace. Become a rare atrocity in the history of world civilization.

Burning the Yuanmingyuan is a phrase that people are used to saying. In fact, the real concept of burning Yuanmingyuan is not only burning Yuanmingyuan, but burning the royal three mountains and five gardens in the west of Beijing. The scope of burning is much larger than that of Yuanmingyuan.

These three mountains and five gardens are: Wanshou Mountain, Yuquan Mountain and Xiangshan Mountain, Qingyi Garden, Yuanmingyuan Garden, Changchun Garden, Jingming Garden and Jingyi Garden.

Invaders burned Yuanmingyuan twice in history. The first time Yuanmingyuan was burned down was in the tenth year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty (1860), and the British and French allied forces invaded Beijing. The British and French allied forces burned and looted everywhere, savagely looted and burned the world-famous Yuanmingyuan, and most of the temple buildings in the park were destroyed by fire. When the British and French allied forces burned Yuanmingyuan, it was intended to raze it to the ground. However, due to the large area of Yuanmingyuan Garden, scattered scenic spots and vast waters, some remote places and scenic spots in the water survived. According to the winter survey in the 12th year of Tongzhi (1873), there are still 13 buildings in the park. For example, Pengdao Yaotai and Cangzhouwu in Yuanmingyuan, Daguongmen and Zhengjue Temple in Qichun Garden, etc.

The second burning of Yuanmingyuan was in the 26th year of Guangxu reign of Qing Dynasty (1900). Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing and set fire to Yuanmingyuan again, so that the remaining 13 royal palace buildings here were looted and burned again.

In literary works, it seems that the sin of burning Yuanmingyuan is attributed to the incompetence of Empress Dowager Cixi. It sounds like there is some truth, but it is not exact. Countless facts in history show that a poor, backward and weak country and nation can only be oppressed, exploited, humiliated and plundered. The history of burning Yuanmingyuan once again proves that a country that is poor, backward and weak will be beaten.

Now, Yuanmingyuan has been turned into a ruins park, and protective maintenance is being carried out on the ruins, and the mountain water system, garden vegetation, bridges and culverts are restored, and some ancient buildings will also be rebuilt.