Source: CCTV.com
06-10-2007 14:55
Special Report: Cultural Heritage DayBeijing's Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan, has a painful history. Invading Anglo-Franco Allied Forces torched the lavish, imperial garden in 1860. Now, after nearly a century and a half, Yuanmingyuan is reconstructing its memories, piece by piece.
A century and a half ago, the Old Summer Palace was at its height of glory. These stone sculptures could be found decorating the numerous fountains, pavilions and corridors.
But when they were rediscovered many years later in various unlikely places, few could have imagined where they used to belong.
Zong Tianliang, asst. manager of Old Summer Palace MGMT. Bureau, said, "In 2006, one of our staff saw two stone fish in an old courtyard home. They somehow struck him as quite familiar. So he went back and looked into the archives. And there they are, in a photo taken by a French photographer before the palace was burned to the ground. The photo offers concrete proof as to the origin of the two stone fish."
On Friday,the fish were among a dozen items brought back home to Yuanmingyuan.
For people familiar with the history, this was an emotionally-charged moment. The long-overdue return has stirred up memories that forever haunt the imperial garden.
Editor:Liu Fang
