Summer Palace Unveils World Heritage Tablet

Summer Palace Announced World Cultural Heritage

Officials with the Ministry of Construction and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage attended Thursday's ceremony at the Summer Palace to unveil its world heritage tablet.

The tablet was designed by well known Chinese architects and archeologists. With a bronze piece inlaid in white marble stone, the tablet is 2 meters high, 1.7 meters wide, and 0.25 meters thick.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization added the Summer Palace and the Temple of heaven to its list of World Heritage sites in December 1998. So far, among the 522 cultural sites under world protection, 23 sites are in China, with five in the capital.

At the front of the tablet are Chinese and English versions for "World Heritage" and a symbol of the World Heritage Committee, and at the back the exact time the Summer Palace was included on the World Heritage list.

Summer Palace Announced World Cultural Heritage

The Summer Palace was built in 1750, burned down by the English and French army in 1860. It was rebuilt in 1888, and was badly damaged by the aggressive troops from eight countries in 1900 during the reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It was reconstructed in 1902. It has been the largest and most intact imperial garden nationwide.