Advanced Spoken Chinese vol.2

The Summer Palace was first built in 1750, the 15th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. It was burned down by British and French invasion forces in 1860 and rebuilt in 1886 during the reign of Emperor Guangxu. The 273 sections of the Long Corridor (a total length of 728 metres) are decorated with more than 8000 paintings. The beams are painted with colourful human figures, landscapes, flowers and birds - all very delicate, vivid, and true to life. The most fascinating of these are the more than 200 paintings depicting historical figures, folk tales, myths, legends, and stories from classical novels and historical records. This work, rich in content, covers a 5000-year history of China.