The Old Summer Palace at Yuanmingyuan Park

Although now mainly ruins, the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) is located in Yuanmingyuan Park in northwestern Beijing and is well worth a visit. Once the imperial residence of the Qianlong Emperor, it was considered one of the most spectacular achievements of Chinese architecture and garden design when constructed in the 1700s and was for a time known as the "Garden of Gardens."

Looted and destroyed by the British and French during the Second Opium War in 1860 – the palace was home to a vast and substantial collection of art and antiquities – it took hundreds of troops three days to burn and demolish the site. These days, the grounds serve as a popular public park, and the old ruins are a delight to explore. To gain a picture of just how spectacular the old palace once was, be sure to pop into the small on-site museum with its reconstructions and models.

While visitors flock to the opulent halls, gardens, and pavilions of the Summer Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, most ignore the charred ruins sitting just next door. But in its heyday, the Old Summer Palace was the pinnacle of Chinese imperial grandeur, covering more than 300 hectares (800 acres) of immaculately curated Beijing terrain.

Official wesite: www.yuanmingyuanpark.cn/sy/english/PON/