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October 9, 2014

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Bringing the Summer Palace back to life

Source: Xinhua | October 9, 2014, Thursday | Print Edition

TOURISTS at Beijing’s Summer Palace may not even notice a humble wall, but chief restorer Dong Guomin believes his work is meaningful.

“The renovation of the wall will help maintain the integrity and look of the garden,” said Dong, who has spent 35 years working in the palace, which was built during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and which became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1998.

This year is the centennial of the opening of the Summer Palace to the public. Refurbishment of over 1,800 meters of wall enclosing the garden is scheduled to be completed in March.

Although the wall may seem trivial compared with the sumptuous residences of the old nobility, Dong’s team is required to stick to the same restoration rules.

Crumbling sections are being rebuilt and some misguided modern additions and repairs are being removed. The team uses the same yellow-brown Hupi stone as the original imperial craftsmen did over 200 years ago.

“We hope the restored wall is in keeping with its surroundings, but traditional methods mean the work takes longer as different skills are required,” Dong said.

Since 2000, the main entrance, pier, art gallery and other parts of the palace and gardens have been spruced up. Each project cost more than 5 million yuan (US$813,000).

Based on Qing Dynasty rules, the renovation complies with the principle of “no change to the original status” and corrects “mistakes” made during pervious work, according to Li Kun at the palace’s administration office.

In the most costly part of the restoration project, around 28 hectares of rice paddy, irrigation systems and mulberry groves — destroyed by Anglo-French forces in 1860 and later occupied by factories and homes — were restored at a cost of more than 100 million yuan.

Test of time

Built in 1750 by Emperor Qianlong, the Summer Palace was destroyed twice, in 1860 and 1900, by invading armies. The cash-strapped Qing rulers struggled to rebuild in 1888 and 1902.

Later turmoil, including the Warlord Era (1916-28), the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and the “cultural revolution” (1966-76), wreaked havoc on the palace, said Qin Lei, the palace’s assistant director of the garden.

Despite the turbulent history, some important artifacts were well preserved.

The palace also dodged a bullet during the devastating 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed more than 200,000 people in neighboring Hebei Province, due to proper precautions.

Chen Wensheng, 79, a retired restoration technician at the palace, recalls how he and other maintenance workers were told that “there might be a strong earthquake” that year. They spent a month meticulously wrapping antiques in the warehouse with paper and fixing items in place.

“When I felt the jolt in my dormitory, I rushed to the storerooms. I was thrilled to find nothing was damaged,” Chen recalled.

In the late 1970s, the palace was crammed with stalls and peddlers selling drinks, snacks and shoddy souvenirs. The excessive commercialization ended when the palace was designated a World Heritage site, Qin said.

Pressures of tourism

An influx of visitors has put enormous strain on the palace. It received nearly 14.5 million visitors in 2013 compared with 265,000 in 1949.

The palace opened to the public in 1914 but most people were kept away due to the high entrance fee. This changed with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.

“We won’t close places to the public or replace antiques with replicas. Visitors must feel the charm of genuine treasures,” Li said.

In addition to adding simple protective devices such as glass boxes, the palace began using technology to monitor the state of the gardens and buildings in 2012. For example, 12 sensors were installed on a theater building to analyze the impact of wind, rain and earthquakes.

Similar devices monitor more than 10,000 paintings in the Long Corridor, which is 728 meters, recording changes in color and other damage.

“Decades ago, such technology was beyond our imagination, but then we boasted a greater thing: court artisans and their apprentices,” said Qin, who worries about the decline of traditional techniques.

Qin claims modern restorers don’t dare touch the paintings in the Long Corridor, which were restored in the 1970s, because “no one could do a better job now,” he said.

Qin wants the government to provide funds to help preserve traditional restoration techniques and attract more artists to the field, a practice that has proven successful abroad.

 

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