Yuanming Yuan is the collective name of the three gardens : Yuanming Yuan Garden , Chang Chun Yuan Garden and Wan Chun Yuan garden . It is situated to the east of Summer Palace and to the north of Beijing University , occupying an area of 5,200 mu (346 hectares) with a periphery of about 10 kilometers . Originally it was a royal garden in the Ming Dynasty . In the Sing Dynasty , it was given by Emperor Kangxi to his fourth son Yin Ran (Emperor Yongzheng) . Its original size was 300 mu . In 1725 Yongzheng expanded it further to include forty more scenic spots in 1745 . Furthermore , he ordered the court painters to make paintings of the garden scenery , and he composed poems himself for the various scenic spots which have been appreciated widely to the present day .
Between 1749 and 1751 he ordered the construction of Chang Chun Yuan to the east of it . In 1760 he ordered the construction of the European baroque style architectures to the north of Chang Chun Yuan to form ten scenic spots ,known popularly as the “Western Buildings”. In 1772 a number of private gardens to the south of Chang Chun Yuan were reconstructed to form Qi Chun Yuan (later renamed Wan ChunYuan) . In the 14th year of reign of Emperor Jiaqing (1809) several more private gardens to the west of Chang Chun Yuan were incorporated to form thirty scenic spots . The three gardens were fundamentally completed in a course of more than 100 years .
Yuanming Yuan embodies the cream of ancient Chinese garden architecture and the cream of famous classic gardens in the South of the Yangtze River. Countless skilled craftsmen from all over the country constructed artificial hills and waterways on the basis of the terrain . They applied the method of enclosing gardens within a garden and wove in the pots of poetry and paintings . Successively , they constructed more than 100 wood or stone bridges , more than 140 scenic spots , and numerous storeyed buildings , pavilions , halls , corridors , etc ., covering 160,000 square meters , more than the area covered by such buildings in the Imperial Palace by 10,000 square meters .
In the history of gardens of many gardens”, the “model of all garden architectures”, and the “earthly 
paradise”. It was not just a royal garden , but was also a temporary palace where the emperors could deal in the state affairs in a quiet surrounding . In addition to the exquisite decors and displays there was stored a copious treasure of rare jewels , cultural objects and books . In Wen Yuan Hall there was one of the seven national royal libraries . Twice in 1860 and 1900 the garden underwent demolition and pillaging by the British-French Allied Forces and the Eight-Power Allied Forces , and was reduced to ruins . Later , what was left experienced stealth and damage by warlords , bureaucrats ,bandits , and unlawful dealers , leaving finally only a few ruins , broken pillars and walls . After the Liberation , a special management body was set up to preserve the ruins , the hilly terrain and the only intact ancient buildings (e.g., Zheng Tang Temple of Wan Chun Yuan) , and to utilize them for patriotic education .
