頤和園 - Summer Palace
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Summer Palace (頤和園), originally built by Qianlong Emperor(乾隆) of Qing dynasty, around 1749, to celebrate his mother’s, Empress Dowager Chongqing(崇慶皇太后), 60th birthday. In 1860, at the end of the Opium War, the French and British looted the Summer Palace. On October 18, 1860, the British High Commissioner to China, Lord Elgin, also ordered the British army to burn down the nearby Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuan Ming Yuen.
In 1884, during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor光緒皇 (r. 1875–1908), Empress Dowager Cixi(慈禧太后) took away 22 million silver taels from the Qing navy’s budget, which was originally designated for upgrading its Beiyang Fleet, to reconstruct the Summer Palace to celebrate her 60th birthday. It took 11 years to complete this project and the Summer Palace was also renamed to "Yi He Yuan" (頤和園), in 1888. Due to the lack of funding, Beiyang Fleet became poorly equipped. As a result of this, the entirely fleet was destroyed by the Japanese navy in Qing’s fir
Summer Palace (頤和園), originally built by Qianlong Emperor(乾隆) of Qing dynasty, around 1749, to celebrate his mother’s, Empress Dowager Chongqing(崇慶皇太后), 60th birthday. In 1860, at the end of the Opium War, the French and British looted the Summer Palace. On October 18, 1860, the British High Commissioner to China, Lord Elgin, also ordered the British army to burn down the nearby Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuan Ming Yuen.
In 1884, during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor光緒皇 (r. 1875–1908), Empress Dowager Cixi(慈禧太后) took away 22 million silver taels from the Qing navy’s budget, which was originally designated for upgrading its Beiyang Fleet, to reconstruct the Summer Palace to celebrate her 60th birthday. It took 11 years to complete this project and the Summer Palace was also renamed to "Yi He Yuan" (頤和園), in 1888. Due to the lack of funding, Beiyang Fleet became poorly equipped. As a result of this, the entirely fleet was destroyed by the Japanese navy in Qing’s first war, known as War of Jiawu (甲午戰爭), with Japan in 25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895.