China's largest imperial garden launches tourist App

BEIJING - Beijing's Summer Palace, China's largest imperial garden, now has a smart phone app, which was released Tuesday.

The app profiles 112 of the garden's popular areas and maps them using GPS, said a Summer Palace manager. The app is free to download.

Those who have downloaded the app can choose from nine recommended routes, and then directions, information and pictures are displayed on their cellphones, he said.

Built in 1750 by the Emperor Qianlong, the Summer Palace has been destroyed twice, once in 1860 and again in 1900.

Despite the garden's turbulent history, many of the garden's important artifacts have been preserved.