The North Star Project, 2013-2014 Report Number Nine — New Yuan Ming Palace, China, by Brock Erdahl

The North Star Project, 2013-2014 Report Number Nine — New Yuan Ming Palace, China, by Brock Erdahl

4. New Yuan Ming Palace

In addition to restoring sites destroyed in the recent past, the creation of popular landmarks from around the world.  In fact, there are whole parks devoted to such reproductions in both Beijing and Shenzhen.  An amusement park in Zhuhai has one such reproduction.  The New Yuan Ming Palace is a partial reconstruction of the Old Summer Palace, a complex comprised of many buildings and gardens that was built in Beijing during the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1912).  The original building was burnt to the ground by British and French troops at the conclusion of the Second Opium War (1856-1860).  It was never rebuilt and its ruins can still be seen in Beijing today.  The New Yuan Ming Palace, however, offers visitors a chance to catch a glimpse of the past glories of the complex as well as enjoy modern diversions, such as amusement park rides and a water-park, that were unthinkable for the emperors of old.

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For all of the North Star Project 2013-2014 Reports, see https://mgjnorthstarproject.wordpress.com/

For all of the North Star Project 2013 Summer Reports, see http://www2.css.edu/app/depts/HIS/historyjournal/index.cfm?cat=10
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The North Star Project: Collaboration between The Middle Ground Journal Student Interns, The College of St. Scholastica, and North Star Academy 8th Grade Global Studies Classes, 2013-2014 School Year Reports.

Under the leadership of our North Star host teachers and student interns, The North Star Project has flourished for two years. For a brief summary, please see a recent article in the American Historical Association’s Perspectives on History, at:

http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2013/1305/Opening-The-Middle-Ground-Journal.cfm

Having re-tooled and re-designed the collaborative program, we are drawing on the experience of our veteran student interns, ideas from our host teachers, and new projects provided by our incoming student interns. This school year The Middle Ground Journal will share brief dispatches from our North Star Project student interns, particularly from those who are currently stationed, or will soon be stationed abroad. As of the time of this report we have confirmed student interns who will be reporting from Mongolia, Southern China, Shanghai, northeastern China, The Netherlands, Tanzania, Ireland, England, Finland, Russia, and Haiti. We also have students developing presentations on theatrical representations of historical trauma, historical memory, the price individuals pay during tragic global conflicts, and different perceptions of current events from around the world.  We will post their brief dispatches here, and report on their interactions with the North Star students and teachers throughout the school year.

Hong-Ming Liang, Chief Editor, The Middle Ground Journal, The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, MN, USA, 2013-2014 School Year

(c) 2013 The Middle Ground Journal, Number 7, Fall, 2013. See Submission Guidelines page for the journal’s not-for-profit educational open-access policy.