Yuanmingyuan had already been looted by foreign armies earlier in the month. But European powers wanted to further punish the Qing emperor, and so decided, in mid-October 1860, to set fire to the fabled "Garden of Eternal Brightness."

[The China Project] What led to the burning of Beijing’s Old Summer Palace?

<p>China Stories from the Sinica Network on The China Project brings you audio narration of the best articles and op-eds appearing in Sixth Tone, Caixin Global, Week in China, The World of Chinese, and of course The China Project. Subscribe to the podcast and you can listen to features on the go, with narrators who won’t butcher the pronunciation of Chinese names and words.</p>

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China Stories from the Sinica Network on The China Project brings you audio narration of the best articles and op-eds appearing in Sixth Tone, Caixin Global, Week in China, The World of Chinese, and of course The China Project. Subscribe to the podcast and you can listen to features on the go, with narrators who won’t butcher the pronunciation of Chinese names and words.

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[The China Project] What led to the burning of Beijing’s Old Summer Palace?

[The China Project] What led to the burning of Beijing’s Old Summer Palace?