As the largest and best preserved imperial garden in China, the Summer Palace now has new attraction.
The Garden of Harmonious Interests, a garden with a long reputation hidden inside the Summer Palace, is now available to the public.
Situated beside Kunming Lake, at the bottom of the Eastern side of Longevity Hill, the Garden of Harmonious Interests, with its exquisite design and distinctive layout, is known as the "garden in the gardens".
With 15 pavilions, 115 corridors and stone bridges, the garden also has a pond surrounded by a covered gallery connecting towers and pavilions. The Zhiyu Bridge with the inscription of Emperor Qianlong is also in the garden.
Setting a garden within a larger garden has been one of China's traditional architectural styles. The Garden of Harmonious Interests serves as a fine example of this. Among the gardens of Northern China, its style is the most representative of the classical gardens of Southern China.
The buildings, ponds and paths have been restored according to the original form and the corridor paintings were given only protective cleansing.
Cong Yipeng, deputy director of Summer Palace, said, We've reduced the damage to the historical relics and maintained the original form of the architecture to the greatest extent. Our highest priority is to preserve the heritage of the Chinese traditional culture. An important principle in preserving world cultural heritage is the minimum of interference.
The Garden of Harmonious Interest, originally named Huishan garden, was built in 1795 as a copy of the Carefree Garden at Huishan in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. In 1811, it was repaired and given its present name. The garden was rebuilt again in 1893 after its destruction in 1860 by the Anglo French Allied Forces.
The Qing Dynasty interior decorations were restored in such a manner as to preserve their original appearance. Visitors will have a glimpse of the royal life of the Qing Dynasty. The garden is open to the public free of charge.