It's summer again at the palace

An architectural jewel laid to waste more than 150 years ago is sparkling again thanks to modern technology and the dedication of researchers and others

Fifteen years ago, He Yan, an architecture student, was visiting the Old Summer Palace in Beijing with her academic supervisor, Guo Daiheng, of the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University.

Guo, 66, riding a bicycle through the park, pointed into the distance and told her 23-year-old protegee: "This is Jiuzhou Qingyan, and that is Tianran Tuhua, two palace complexes of the Old Summer Palace."