The picture shows today's Yuanmingyuan in Beijing.

Work to rehabilitate the beauty of Yuanmingyuan, China's great imperial garden, has achieved initial success as the western part of the garden has been excavated from the dust of ages.

The rehabilitation of the garden aims to protect its present condition, rather than reverting to the prosperity of old days, said Wang Shiren, a renowned heritage expert who is an adviser to the protection project.

The western part, including two lakes and 11 islands which cover a total area of 18 hectares, refers to the core areas of one of the three parks of Yuanmingyuan, said Wang.

Located on the northwestern outskirts of Beijing, Yuanmingyuan was first built in 1709 and underwent 150 years of construction under five emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Covering a total area of 350 hectares and consisting of three independent but interconnected parks, Yuanmingyuan was once described as the "garden of gardens" for its luxurious palaces and mansions in both Eastern and Western styles.

"Actually, Yuanmingyuan was the real imperial power centre during the heyday of the Qing Dynasty since the emperors usually spent most of their time at the garden, handling administrative affairs. The Imperial Palace in downtown Beijing was likely just a symbol of imperial authority at that time," said Wang.

However, its former prosperity vanished when the garden was looted and burned down by British and French troops in 1860 during the Second Opium War, and then further destroyed by the allied army of eight powers in 1900.

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