Film studio plans to rebuild Old Summer Palace

A US$2.7 billion project to rebuild the destroyed Old Summer Palace, an imperial garden in Beijing, has been approved by the government, Xinhua Net reported (in Chinese). The project was proposed by Xu Wenrong, the founder of China's top film studio, Hengdian Group, which has plans for a film set in the palace. Xu said US$945 million of the project, to be used for restoration work, will be raised through a mutual fund, while the remaining US$1.8 billion, for the collection and replication of relics, will be collected via donations. The project has already secured US$157 million before the launch of promotion campaign. Old Summer Palace was destroyed by British and French forces during the Second Opium War in 1860.