three visits to Yuanmingyuan
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- Category: Liberal Barbarism
- Published on Sunday, 06 November 2011 10:10
- Written by Erik
- Hits: 286
I just got back from a visit to Beijing. I was there three days and I went to Yuanmingyuan three times. I had never previously seen what really is the core of the gardens -- houhu, the "back lake" -- with the nine islands constructed by the Kangxi Emperor in 1709. What everyone looks at, and takes photographs of, are the ruins of the European palaces, but they were a very peripheral part of the imperial compound, just a little amusement a la europenne off in a corner. The nine islands, on the other hand, constituted the center of the garden. This was where the emperor lived together with his women. The nine islands symbolized the entire world. This part of the park was opened only last year.
People say there isn't much to see at Yuanmingyuan, and foreigners don't come here much. I completely disagree of course. I find it a beautiful and delightful place, much as in the days when the emperors still lived here. Everything is gone but the meandering waterways and the irregular aesthetics of the paths and the hills. It's enough for me.