Historical photo of Old Summer Palace's wooden architecture discovered

An officer from Yuanmingyuan Management Department revealed on June 23 that a photo of the Old Summer Palace's wooden architecture had been discovered recently. It is believed to be the first photo discovered in China depicting the Old Summer Palace's wooden architecture. The photo will serve as an important reference for research about the architectural changes since the Old Summer Palace was burned down by the Anglo-French Allied Forces.

The photo of Zhiguo Hall at Lianxilechu in the Old Summer Palace

In the photo, there were eight upright posts in the main hall and exquisite patterns are engraved on the eaves. Although the courtyard was overgrown with weeds, the main hall remained basically intact. Reporters learned that this photo was first exhibited at an auction preview where it drew a lot of attention from experts. After repeated appraisal and analysis, it has been concluded that the architecture captured in the photo is the Zhiguo Hall in the Lianxilechu of the Old Summer Palace, one of the top 40 sites of the Palace.

Reporters learned that the Lianxilechu was located slightly to the west of the center of the Palace. The Zhiguo Hall was one of the last architectures built in the Lianxilechu scenic area during the 47th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1782).

According to historical records, due to its “remote” location in the Palace, the Lianxilechu successfully avoided the raging fire set by Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860, but was later destroyed in 1900 when the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China.

Liu Yang, a member of Yuanmingyuan Society of China who has researched old photos of the Palace, said that since the Palace was burned down, foreign photographers have gained entrance to the Palace through various means, in an attempt to photograph any remaining architecture that had not been destroyed by the fire. It is estimated that this photo was taken around the 1870s or 1880s. It is the first old photo discovered in China that depicts the wooden architecture of the Old Summer Palace.

Translated by LOTO