Three Mountains and Five Gardens are the general name of the imperial palace in the western suburbs of Beijing, which was built between Kangxi and Qianlong. Since Liao and Jin Dynasties, the western suburbs of Beijing have always been a scenic spot, with rolling hills to the east of Xishan, numerous lakes, abundant springs and mountains set each other off, which has the natural landscape of Jiangnan water town. Therefore, palaces and other gardens have been built here for generations. During the Qianlong period, in order to increase the water volume of Yu He River to meet the water demand of Gyeonggi, and at the same time, to prevent floods and develop rice production in the western suburbs, the Xishan River system was regulated on a large scale. The improvement of river and lake system laid the foundation for the further development of landscape architecture in the western suburbs. Three Mountains and Five Gardens were founded in the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, flourished in the Qianlong period, and were mostly burned in the Second Opium War in 1860.
During the Tongzhi period, it was planned to rebuild Yuanmingyuan, so the wood of the remaining buildings in the surrounding affiliated gardens was demolished, but it was forced to shelve due to financial difficulties. 1884 focus on rebuilding Qingyi Garden (Qianshan part) and rename it the Summer Palace. 1900 After Eight-Nation Alliance occupied Beijing, although it did not destroy the Summer Palace, it removed a large number of cultural relics in the Garden, and the remaining buildings and trees in the Yuanmingyuan were looted by the people of China.
After the demise of the Qing Dynasty, the Summer Palace was listed as royal property and opened to the public. After 1924, it was taken over by the Beiping municipal government and changed into a park, but many courtyards were changed into private houses. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the site of Jingyi Garden in Xiangshan was given by the royal family to Lianzhi Ying, Xiong Xiling and other educators to set up schools. During the Republic of China, many places in Xiangshan were occupied by Beiyang government officials to build villas. The situation in Yuquan Mountain is similar.
The remaining stone carvings, railings, Taihu rocks, fences, bricks, etc. in the Yuanmingyuan site will be demolished for gardening and grave building (Zhang, Tan and others used Yuanmingyuan rocks in the cemetery), and some Huabiao, Shishi and rockery lakes will be moved to yenching university, Tsinghua University, Zhengyangmen, xinhua gate and Zhongshan Park. The remains of Changchun Garden have also been removed. Most of the attached gardens around Yuanmingyuan and the gardens donated by the Prince were resold to yenching university, Tsinghua University and wealthy businessmen in the Republic of China, and some of them have been preserved to this day.