Chinese architects digitally recreate garden

Architects from a renowned Chinese university have used digital imaging technology to successfully "restore" an imperial garden that was destroyed about 150 years ago by Anglo-French troops. Experts from the Beijing Tsinghua Urban Planning and Design Institute said they have created three-dimensional images of 29 scenic spots in Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace, located in the northwest suburbs of Beijing. "The Digital Old Summer Palace" project, presented at the ongoing East Asia Cultural Heritage Protection Seminar in Hohhot, the capital of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, reveals how the garden changed between 1740 and 2010. Before the project was started in 2009, experts spent 10 years gathering historical documents containing information about the former imperial resort, said Yang Zhaokai, a designer of the institute attached to Tsinghua University. "We hope to depict every building as historically accurate as possible," Yang said. Yuanmingyuan was built in the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and was known for its elegant architecture and other aesthetic features. As a symbol of the highest achievements of Chinese gardening, it was once dubbed the Garden of All Gardens. The garden was plundered by British and French troops in 1860 during the Second Opium War, with many of the buildings inside destroyed as the plunderers set the garden on fire after looting, and the flames lasted several days and nights. People can log on to www.re-relic.com to take a look at the digital recreations, Yang said, adding that the project is expected to be completed over the next three years. The East Asia Cultural Heritage Protection Seminar was first held in Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in 2007. Experts from China, Japan and ROK hold the seminar every two years to discuss their latest findings regarding cultural heritage protection.