In 1860, the historical event of burning the Old Summer Palace occurred.

After the British and French forces captured Beijing in the 10th year of Xianfeng (1860), they occupied the Old Summer Palace. The Chinese defenders were outnumbered. Wen Feng, the minister in charge of the Old Summer Palace, threw himself into the sea of ??fire. Chang Bi, who lived in the garden, was frightened and died. British army leader Elgin, with the support of British Prime Minister Palmerston, ordered the burning of the Old Summer Palace.

The fire lasted for three days. The Old Summer Palace and the nearby Qingyi Garden, Jingming Garden, Jingyi Garden, Changchun Garden and Haidian Town were all burned into ruins. In the Anyou Palace, nearly 300 people Eunuchs, maids, and craftsmen perished in the flames. This world-famous garden was reduced to ruins. The fire burned for three days and three nights, becoming a rare atrocity in the history of world civilization.

The construction process of the Old Summer Palace

The Old Summer Palace is located in Haidian District, the western suburbs of Beijing, closely adjacent to the Summer Palace. It was built in the 46th year of Kangxi (1709) and consists of three gardens: Old Summer Palace, Changchun Garden and Qichun Garden. Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty gave the garden to his fourth son Yinzhen (later Emperor Yongzheng) and named it Yuanmingyuan.

After more than 150 years of management by the five emperors Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xianfeng, they concentrated a large amount of material resources, employed countless skilled craftsmen, and devoted the blood and sweat of millions of working people to carefully build it into A magnificent palace with beautiful scenery.

Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia - Burning of the Old Summer Palace