A Chinese private foundation announced Thursday (Oct 19th) it would construct a replica of the famous royal gardens of Beijing's Yuanmingyan (Old Summer Palace) which was destroyed by fire 146 years ago when Anglo-French forces stormed the building.

The China Culture Relics Protection Foundation and the privately-owned Zhejiang Hengdian Foundation for Chinese Cultural Development, led by 72-year-old Xu Wenrong, will collaborate on the project. They intend to build the replica at Hengidan in Zhejiang Province.

Funds will be raised in China and overseas for the work and cultural treasures from the garden will be collected, said Xu Wenrong, chairman of Zhejiang Hengdian Foundation for Chinese Cultural Development.

Chief designer Zhang Xianchun said, "The replica will be a 1:1 imitation of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) complex featuring the three main building clusters of Yuanming, Changchun and Yichuan gardens. It¡¯ll cover more than 400 hectares and 40 percent will be water."

The designer said the new Yuanmingyuan will express "the artistic quintessence of Chinese gardens."

The elderly Xu told Xinhua in an exclusive interview he¡¯d been dreaming about the project for 15 years. He said he was confident of being able to recreate the splendor of Yuanmingyuan.

But Xu's ambition has met with fervent opposition in many quarters. Opponents believe  Yuanmingyuan is a symbol of humiliation to Chinese.

Professor Ruan Yisan, director of the State Institute of Famous Historical and Cultural Cities with Shanghai-based Tongji University said, "Yuanmingyuan took 150 years to build. It cannot be recreated in five or ten years."

"The present-day ruins are testimony to that period of history,¡± said Ruan. ¡°The replica is unnecessary. It would be better to spend the money on ancient cultural heritage sites which are in dire need of protection or build some modern mansions blended with aspects 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," said Ruan.

China has 2,500 such tourist sites in which 150 billion yuan (US$18.75 billion) has been invested. Only ten percent of them are profitable.

Ruan is not the only critic of the project. Ye Yanfang, a researcher with the institute of foreign literature with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the destruction of Yuanmingyuan was a scar left by powerful western nations on the back of the Chinese nation. Preserving the ruins in Beijing protected the true facts of history.

However, some experts and scholars from the China Yuanmingyuan Institute, the State Archives Administration, Tsinghua and Peking Universities support Xu and his proposal. They believe the replica will provide a stark contrast to the bleak remains in Beijing and remind young people of that period of history.

Standing firm at the center of the "storm" Xu said he wouldn't be swayed contending that the Yuanmingyuan ruins could continue to serve as a reminder of history while the Hengdian replica would showcase the artistic achievements of pre-1860 China.

"Nothing can change my mind," he said. "This project is a long-cherished ambition of mine and for 15 years I have been collecting materials from the original Yuanmingyuan which were scattered to all four corners of the earth."

Li Jianping, a Yuanmingyuan expert, said both viewpoints sought "to protect China's great cultural heritage and enhance its position in world cultural history. The advantages and disadvantages of the replica will not be clear until it has been built." 

According to historical records construction of the original Yuanmingyuan began in 1707 and continued for 150 years under five Qing Dynasty emperors. It consisted of three interconnected gardens covering an area of 350 hectares of which 140 hectares was water. The Yuanmingyuan is listed as a site for "patriotic education".

The Hengdian Social and Economic Federation led by Xu Wenrong won fame for a development featuring reproductions of the Forbidden City in Beijing, a Qin Dynasty (221-206BC) palace and a prosperous Song Dynasty (960-1279) downtown street. The development attracted 3.3 million visitors last year.

Editor: Donald