Replica of imperial garden to go ahead despite criticism
Updated: 2007-12-04 22:31
Located in northwest Beijing, the original imperial summer resort began construction in 1707 and was finished in 1744. It was burned down by British and French troops in 1860. It was sacked and burned down again, after a partial restoration, in 1900 when the Eight-Power Allied Forces - - troops sent by Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Tsarist Russia, Japan, Italy and Austria-Hungary -- occupied Beijing.
The construction plan of the Yuanmingyuan replica was announced in September last year by Hengdian Sannong.
The plan has met fierce public criticism ever since its announcement.
"The Yuanmingyuan took 150 years to build. It can not be recreated in five or ten years," said Ruan Yisan, director of the State Institute of Famous Historical and Cultural Cities with the Shanghai-based Tongji University.
"The replica is unnecessary because the Yuanmingyuan was destroyed by the Allied Forces and the present-day ruins serves as a testimony to that period of humiliating history.
"It would be of greater value to spend the money on ancient cultural heritage sites which are in dire need of protection or build some modern mansions blended with the cream of ancient Chinese architecture.
"If the replica is billed as a tourist attraction, it might lose a lot of money, given the huge funds needed for its construction," he said.
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