Researcher re-grows imperial gardens' story

With almost no records of the garden's plants, Zhu carefully reviewed the complex's history and insisted on planting varieties that best served its function and the artistic conception, often used in Qing-period gardens, drawing on earlier experience. In this way, the garden was restored as a fine example of the landscape features of ancient imperial gardens, says Fu Jun, deputy dean of the School of Landscape Architecture at the Beijing University of Agriculture.

In addition to restoration studies on parts of the garden area, Zhu's team is researching imperial life in the gardens. For example, through textual research, they discovered how Emperor Qianlong spent his day in Yuanmingyuan during the Lantern Festival, including his schedule, activities and food.

"In promoting public understanding of the Three Hills and Five Gardens, we found that imperial life in the gardens remained largely unknown," says Zhu. "People generally believe the Forbidden City was where the ancient royal family lived and where everything happened, but that is a misunderstanding. The royal family's pursuit of a better living environment drew them to the gardens, where they organized all kinds of activities."