As the largest imperial garden in China, the Summer Palace was built as a retreat for the Empress Dowager Cixi, but served a number of other purposes. It was part of the capital's water management system and also was intended to give Emperor Qianlong more freedom from his mother's control. The Palace became the stage for some of the most significant events of that era's politics and arts. Today it remains as a testimony to the brilliance and decadence of the old order.
