Sixteen bridges in Imperial Yuanmingyuan Garden, or the old Summer Palace in the northwest of Beijing, are expected to get repaired and restored this year, according to the garden's administration.

The garden, built from 1709 onwards, featured an imposing and ingenious amalgamation of traditional Chinese garden art and Western architecture. It was burnt down by Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860.

After repeated discussions, experts last year reinspected the remains of 30 stone and wooden bridges in the garden. Some of the dilapidated bridges were found to be still in good shape and could be repaired, Beijing Daily reported recently.

Zong Tianliang, deputy director of the Yuanmingyuan Garden Research Office, said that the 16 bridges to be repaired this year include the "Green Wave Bridge", which was the garden's only bridge bearing an inscription from Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Local architecture repair institutions are working on plans to restore the exquisite bridges and the plan will be submitted to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage for approval shortly.

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2004)