Tsinghua Garden, originally the Xichun Garden, was granted as a gift by the
Kangxi Emperor to his third son,
Yinzhi (Prince Cheng). It was part of the
Old Summer Palace and was called the "East Garden" (東園) because it was located to the east of the Old Summer Palace. The Kangxi Emperor visited the garden ten times when the garden was owned by Yinzhi, and celebrated eight of his birthdays at the garden, including his 60th birthday in 1713. He also wrote calligraphy for five plaques displayed all over the garden, one of which was the garden's name (Xichun Garden). In 1821, the
Daoguang Emperor divided the Xichun Garden into Chunze Garden (later renamed to Jinchun Garden) and Hande Garden (later renamed back to Xichun Garden), and granted them respectively to his brothers
Mianxin (Prince Ruihuai 瑞懷親王) and
Miankai (Prince Dunke 惇恪親王). After Miankai's death, Xichun Garden was inherited by his adopted son,
Yicong (Prince Dun). As Yicong was actually the fifth son of the Daoguang Emperor, Xichun Garden was loosely referred to as the "Fifth Prince's Garden" (小五爺園). In 1852, after the
Xianfeng Emperor came to the throne, he renamed Xichun Garden to "Qinghua Garden" (or "Tsinghua Garden"). In 1860, during the
Second Opium War, the Anglo-French forces destroyed Jinchun Garden while burning down the Old Summer Palace. Qinghua Garden sustained little or no damage. After Yicong's death, Qinghua Garden was inherited by his eldest son, Zailian. In the aftermath of the 1900
Boxer Rebellion, Qinghua Garden was confiscated by the Qing imperial government because it had been used by Zailian's younger brother,
Zaiyi (Prince Duan), as a meeting location with the Boxer rebels. The garden fell into disrepair for some years before the imperial government approved a request by the foreign affairs ministry to build a school on the land. The school, named "Qinghua School" (or "Tsinghua School") (清華學堂), started operating in 1911. In 1913, the Qinghua School formally acquired the former Jinchun Garden and the surrounding areas, and gradually expanded over time to become the present-day
Tsinghua University. == Gallery ==