How big is the Old Summer Palace?

How big is the Old Summer Palace?

The Old Summer Palace, as a famous royal garden in the Qing Dynasty of China, is known as the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens" for its large scale and exquisite design. In recent years, with the deepening of historical and cultural research and the rise of tourism, the scale and historical value of the Old Summer Palace have once again become a focus of public attention. This article will combine the hot topics and hot content on the Internet in the past 10 days to analyze the scale and historical significance of the Old Summer Palace from multiple dimensions.

1. Basic overview of the Old Summer Palace

The Old Summer Palace is located in Haidian District, Beijing. It was built in 1707. It was a garden given by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty to the fourth son of the emperor Yinzhen (later Emperor Yongzheng). After continuous expansion and renovation by emperors Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xianfeng, the Old Summer Palace finally formed a large-scale royal garden complex. Its total area is approximately 350 hectares, equivalent to the size of 500 standard football fields.

2. Comparison of the scale of the Old Summer Palace

The scale of the Old Summer Palace was second to none among the royal gardens of the Qing Dynasty, even far exceeding that of European royal gardens of the same period. The following is a comparison of the scale of the Old Summer Palace and famous gardens at home and abroad:

As can be seen from the table, although the size of the Old Summer Palace is not as large as that of the Palace of Versailles in France, it is far larger than other famous gardens in China, such as the Summer Palace and the Humble Administrator's Garden.

3. The layout and architectural features of the Old Summer Palace

The layout of the Old Summer Palace is dominated by water features, which combines the exquisiteness of Jiangnan gardens with the grandeur of northern gardens. Its architectural styles are diverse, including traditional Chinese buildings and Western-style buildings. The following are the main buildings of the Old Summer Palace and their characteristics:

4. The historical significance and current situation of the Old Summer Palace

The Old Summer Palace is not only the pinnacle of royal gardens in the Qing Dynasty, but also a witness to China's modern history. In 1860, the Old Summer Palace was burned down by the British and French forces during the Second Opium War, and a large number of precious cultural relics were lost overseas. Today, the ruins of the Old Summer Palace, as a key national cultural relic protection unit, have become an important patriotic education base and tourist attraction.

In recent years, the protection and restoration of the Old Summer Palace has attracted much attention. The following are the hot topics about the Old Summer Palace on the Internet in the past 10 days:

5. Conclusion

With its grand scale and exquisite design, the Old Summer Palace is not only an outstanding representative of ancient Chinese garden art, but also an important part of the world's cultural heritage. Despite the disaster, the historical value and cultural significance of the Old Summer Palace remain indelible. I hope that through the introduction of this article, more people can understand the scale of the Old Summer Palace and the historical stories behind it.