1860101On October 6th, British and French forces invaded Beijing and invaded Yuanmingyuan. They plundered everything in the garden that could be taken away, and those that could not be taken away were carried by carts or animals. If it can't be shipped, it will be destroyed at will. In order to destroy the criminal evidence, more than 3,000 invading troops were ordered to set fire to the garden on June 18 and June 19. The fire burned for three days and thick smoke enveloped the whole city of Beijing. China, the treasure of garden art and the essence of architectural art, was reduced to ashes in this way.

1900, Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, not only the Summer Palace was looted (later restored in 1903), but also the site of Yuanmingyuan was completely destroyed. Due to the escape of the garden management organization, the idle flag soldiers and hooligans in the park began to steal building materials. During the Republic of China, the ruins were even more neglected. Warlords of all factions and even many rich people come here to carry stones to build tombs and gardens. In the past twenty or thirty years, there have been an endless stream of stolen carriages almost every day, and the remnant garden has become a "stone yard".