Movie: Yuanmingyuan - Garden of Gardens

Part 1

Under Five Emperors of 150 years' constructing, Yuanming Yuan (The Old Summer Palace) became the largest and most luxurious royal garden in Qing Dynasty, which was regarded as the "real garden of all gardens".

In 1860, the Anglo-France joint force burned the park after their three days plundering during the second Opium War. Based on narration of the royal painter Lang Shining (a former Italian missionary) and plenty of mails and diaries written by British and French missionaries and soldiers at the time, the movie tells us the stories about how the garden was built, how Chinese emperors enjoyed the garden, and how and why it was destroyed by the invaders. It also reveals the tremendous changes in Chinese society after the burning of Yuanming Yuan.