Page 6 - Mark Irving News Today

© Ron Gatepain Beijing’s Yi He Yuan, or the Summer Palace, is a complex of halls, towers, kiosks, and pavilions in a 720-acre (290-ha) park around Kunminghu lake, about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Tiananmen. It was commissioned by Emperor Qianlong in 1750 as the Qingyi Yuan (Garden of Clear Ripples), which developed into the imperial summer residence. It was attacked by foreign armies in 1860 and 1900, and rebuilt on each occasion. The Dowager Empress Cixi lived here from 1889 until her de...

© Liam Kearney/Shutterstock.com Sweden’s history as a sovereign state stretches back a thousand years, though its boundaries were often changing until the early 19th century. These 14 buildings provide useful snapshots of how the country’s distant past has influenced its more recent history. Earlier versions of the descriptions of these buildings first appeared in 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die , edited by Mark Irving (2016). Writers’ names appear in parentheses. Church of ...

© yegorovnick/Shutterstock.com Norway, by some estimates, is two-thirds mountainous, and about half of its population lives in the south of the country, where its capital, Oslo, is located. These eight contemporary buildings will give you another lens through which to see this Scandinavian country. Earlier versions of the descriptions of these buildings first appeared in 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die , edited by Mark Irving (2016). Writers’ names appear in parentheses. Norwegi...

© Pedro Salaverría/Shutterstock.com Legend holds that Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, was founded by the ancient Greek hero Odysseus. Although these 17 buildings might not be quite as fantastical as that claim, they will delight you just the same. Earlier versions of the descriptions of these buildings first appeared in 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die , edited by Mark Irving (2016). Writers’ names appear in parentheses. Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória , Commissioned by King ...