The Summer Palace

This two-part documentary provides historical background along with a guided tour of one of China's most magnificent tourist attractions—the summer palace of the Qing emperors, which covers more than 700 acres located about six miles outside Beijing. In its original form, the palace dated to the middle of the 17th century, when the Emperor Qianlong commissioned it both to provide a secure supply of water to the capital and to offer a serene refuge for the imperial family from the pressures of life in the Forbidden City. Although ransacked during the Anglo-French invasion of 1860, the palace was rebuilt as the summer residence of the Empress Cixi, whose extravagance coincided with the decline of imperial power that would culminate in the revolution of 1911. Along with a brief description of how the palace was constructed (including intriguing anecdotes about revisions to the plan during the course of the project), lovingly shot footage here features gardens, lakes, pagodas, temples, pavilions, and bridges, with explanations of how the various elements symbolize particular aspects of traditional culture. The Summer Palace is rightly recognized as a masterpiece of Chinese landscape design that expresses the values of the era in which it was built. While no film can fully capture the experience of visiting such a remarkable locale, this one provides a good introduction, although the $500 price tag makes it suitable primarily for academic collections specializing in Chinese history. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)