The Tragedy and Revival of the Famed Gardens: Part 2

In 1949, the People s Republic of China was founded and since then China has entered into another new age of history. The classic gardens all over the country have been receibing proper preserving, renovation, maintaining and rebuilding.

The Mountainous Summer Resort in Chengde, the largest imperial garden in China, occupied a large space and lacked uniform management, therefore, many unrelated organizations and units once stationed inside the garden. A small number of villas and houses were built in the mountainous landscape area and some shops, restaurants and reception houses were built inside the plain and lakes area.

Aiming to change the chaotic condition, the local government supported by the national cultural relics protection department carried out the project of clearing up and reorganizing. Through management, the water in the resort becomes clean, trees turn green, the primitive simplicity of the structures is maintained, the grass is as thick as blankets, and the mountain is as lush as before.

The Summer Resort of old days once again appears in front of people s eyes. In addition, the Chengde government made great efforts on renovating the eight temples surrounding the resort. The destroyed parts were restored using the traditional techniques. In 1994, the Mountainous Summer Resort in Chengde and the surrounding temples as an integrated architectural group was added in the World Cultural Heritage List by UNESCO.

The Summer Palace was the most well preserved one among all gardens located in northwest suburbs of Beijing. For the past 50 years, after several times of digging and dredging up of the Kunming Lake, a new water-visiting route has formed because of the abundance of Chang River s water resource. The structures inside the garden were renovated many times, so that they could still keep its magnificence of imperial architecture. After years painstaking efforts on maintaining, the Summer Palace was listed in the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1998.

For the past century, most of the former scenic spots and structures of the Jing Yi Garden in the Fragrant Hills have been destroyed. After being tidied up, former scenic spots were restored, some scenic structures were rebuilt, and the present outlook of those large-scale scnic spots was maintained. The original mountainous vegetation was kept. When autumn comes, red leaves will cover the Fragrant Hills. The environment and the artistic realm of the former Jing Yi Garden are still maintained.

In 1950s, the Beijing government decided to plant trees extensively in the Garden of Perfect Splendor and tried to maintain the original environment of the garden through large scale of forestation. But due to the lack of further procedures, the destroying activities didn t stop. In 1980s, the east part of the garden after a little garden after a little cleaning up was opened to the public as the Park of Ruins of the Garden of Perfect Splendor.

In more than ten years from then on, peasants and residents living inside the garden had been moved out step by step. Rice fields were given up, and the scenic spots were restored. The renovation of the scenic spots in the Sea of Happiness and the Yi Chun Garden received special attention, so that some pavilions and water pavilions were rebuilt.

In the site of the former Western Storied Building in the Chang Chun Garden, many destroyed architectural parts in old years were excavated. After being cleaned up, the Western Storied Building began to present its original outlook. In recent years, the Beijing government, by considering the opinions from all sides, drafted the developing plan for the Garden of Perfect Splendor based on the actual situation.

The main contents of the plan include fully cleaning up the water body, canals, dykes, hills and roads, and then rebuilding some main scenic spots. The plan strives to display parts of the landscapes of the former imperial garden. With this plan, the protection and construction of the Garden of perfect Splendor are more likely to experience a fast developing period.

Hopefully with constant practice and research, the Garden of Perfect Splendor, a masterpiece in an era, could obtain proper protection and be vibrated with life again.

source: Chinese Gardens, published by China International Press