The burning of the Yuanmingyuan took place on October 18, 1860.

October 6, 1860 (Xianfeng ten years), the British and French forces broke into the Yuanmingyuan, the Chinese defenders were outnumbered, the Yuanmingyuan Minister Wen Feng threw himself into the Fuhai, the concubines living in the garden died of shock. Erskine, the leader of the British army, with the support of British Prime Minister Palmerston, ordered the Yuanmingyuan to be burned.

After the Allied Forces occupied the Yuanmingyuan, an "organized looting" began. All things that can be taken, all looted; can not take, with a big car or livestock to carry; really can not transport, will be arbitrarily damaged, destroyed. Soldiers smashed vases and mirrors, tore down paintings and scrolls, they broke open warehouses to seize silk, and wrapped horses in these precious fabrics; they wrapped the queen's phoenix robes, pockets full of rubies, sapphires, pearls and crystals.

In order to destroy the evidence of the crime, on October 18, Ergin organized a cavalry regiment of 3,500 men to set fire all over the Yuanmingyuan, and the fire was not extinguished for three days. The Yuanmingyuan and the nearby Qingyi Garden, Jingmingyuan, Jingyiyuan, Changchunyuan and Haidian Town were all burned to the ground.

Introduction to the Yuanmingyuan:

The Yuanmingyuan is situated in the Haidian District in the western suburb of Beijing, adjacent to the Summer Palace. Yuanmingyuan, originally a royal imperial garden of the Qing Dynasty, was built in 1709 (46th year of Kangxi). Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty gave the garden to his fourth son, Yin Zhen, giving the name "Yuanmingyuan", and personally inscribed "Yuanmingyuan" plaque. From Kangxi to Xianfeng, six emperors Qing Dynasty emperors came here every summer, listen to politics, deal with military and political affairs, so also known as the Qing Dynasty "summer palace".

The Yuanmingyuan consists of three gardens, Yuanmingyuan, Changchunyuan and Qichunyuan, with 145 landscapes spread out in the mountains surrounded by water. There are splendid halls and exquisite pavilions; there is a unique style of European-style palaces that combine Chinese and Western styles; there is a symbol of the bustling market of the "Street of Trade", and a symbol of the idyllic scenery of the countryside and villages. The scale of the grand, perfect specifications reached the peak of the ancient Chinese garden art.

Additionally, there are many small gardens distributed in the east, south and west sides of the Yuanmingyuan, which are like stars surrounding the Yuanmingyuan. Yuanmingyuan also treasured many cultural relics. From the pre-Qin period of bronze rituals, down to the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties of celebrities painting and calligraphy, a variety of rare and exotic treasures, can be called the world's first-class museums, art galleries.