New Yuan Ming Palace in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, located far from the original palace near Beijing, is constructed as a replica of the old palace (aka Old Summer Palace) as the latter existed in its heyday. In its heyday, the old palace, which had been built up over a period of about 150 years from its initial construction in 1707, consisted of three different gardens, the Garden of Perfect Brightness proper (the entire imperial garden itself was known as the Garden of Perfect Brightness), the Elegant Spring Garden, and the Garden of Eternal Spring. The three gardens comprised numerous structures such as halls, temples, galleries, a library, lakes, ponds and streams, as well as smaller gardens. It occupied an area of some 3 square kilometers.
The New Summer Palace, which incorporates the classical royal palace complex, the classical garden building on the Yangtze Delta and the western style buildings, reproduces the elegance and talent in the flourishing age of the Qing Dynasty. In the west of the palace are the western style buildings of unique noble disposition. The white marble walls and the exquisite decorations of the interior hall make you feel as if you were in the ancient European palaces.
The New Summer Palace, which officially opened in 1996, is a replica palace-and-gardens complex that comprises an area of about 1 square kilometers, not including adjacent Fuhai Lake, with lush green mountains bordering it on three sides, of which the nearest is Lanpu Dashilin Mountain. The new palace complex, which is a work-in-progress, is set to become one of China's primary tourist attractions in the region.
Scenic areas, such as the Justice and Honour Hall and Jiuzhou Qing banq and the scenic area of the Jiuzhou palace banquet of the Qing Dynasty, have a solemn and square layout, either displaying the imposing air of the royal family or exhibiting the refined disposition of the beauties in the harem of the Qing Dynasty. The yellow glasses are energetic and graceful; the green ones are instinct with life; and the purple ones repel ghosts and avoid evil spirits.
The New Yuan Ming Palace incorporates a classical Chinese royal palace complex and a classical Chinese garden complex, as well as a smattering of European-inspired buildings, as did the old palace. The New Summer Palace thus aims to be a showcase on the elegance, talent, and openness of the Qing Dynasty at the pinnacle of its wealth and power. The new palace's European style buildings recall the splendor of the old palace's European-style palatial buildings (in the Baroque style especially, replete with Roman fountains, but there is Gothic architecture here too), with their richly adorned exteriors and their towering interior walls of white marble. The sight of these magnificent buildings, both inside and out, transport the visitor to the court of a European monarch during the late 17th or early 18th century, for example that of the French king, Louis XIV.