The summer palace

[Photo/Xinhua]

Located in Beijing's Haidian District today, the compound that contains lakes, gardens and palaces was used as a summer resort by emperors for centuries. It was given its current name, Yiheyuan, by Empress Dowager Cixi, in 1888. It was said that Cixi spent a huge amount of silver, which originally was supposed to be used for the navy, to reconstruct and enlarge the Summer Palace. The construction of the Summer Palace was started by Emperor Qianlong in 1750 as a place for the royal family to relax.