History
Initial construction of the Old Summer Palace began in 1707, during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor. It intended as a small gift for the emperor's fourth son, the future Yongzheng Emperor, who would greatly expand the Imperial Gardens in 1725. Yongzheng also introduced the waterworks of the gardens, creating lakes, streams, and ponds to complement the rolling hills and grounds, and named 28 scenic spots within the garden.
In the Qianlong Emperor's reign, the second expansion was well underway and the number of scenic spots increased to 50 (Qianlong personally directed construction). By the middle of the nineteenth century, the Imperial Gardens had undergone constant expansion in one form or another for over 150 years.
The last European appearance in the Old Summer Palace in the context of traditional Chinese imperial foreign relations was a diplomatic mission representing Dutch and Dutch East India Company interests. The Titsingh delegation included Isaac Titsingh, the Dutch-American Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest, and the French Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de Guignes. Both published complementary accounts of the mission (Titsingh himself died before he could publish his version of events).
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