The Old Summer Palace, known in Chinese as Yuan Ming Yuan (the Gardens of Perfect Brightness), and originally called the Imperial Gardens, was a complex of palaces and gardens in Beijing. It is located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) northwest of the walls of the Imperial City and was built in the 18th and early 19th century as the place where the emperors of the Qing Dynasty resided and handled government affairs (the Forbidden City
was used for formal ceremonies). The Old Summer Palace was known for
its extensive collection of garden and building architectures and other
works of art (a popular name in China was the “Garden of Gardens”, simplified Chinese: 万园之园; traditional Chinese: 萬園之園; pinyin: wàn yuán zhī yuán). Nearby and to the south was an extensive imperial hunting park known as “Nanyuan”.
In 1860 during the Second Opium War, two British envoys, a journalist for The Times
and their small escort of British and Indian troopers met with the
Royal Prince to negotiate. They were imprisoned and tortured, resulting
in twenty deaths.[1][2] The British High Commissioner to China, Lord Elgin, retaliated by ordering the destruction of the palace, which was then carried out by British and French troops.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Summer_Palace
