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Rebuilt hi 1888 by the dotty Dowager Empress Tz'u Hsi, diverting funds allotted for naval construction, the imperial plaisanterie occupies 700 acres and attracts huge numbers of Chinese rubbernecks.

But that night he invited Vance to a splendid dinner at the 19th century Summer Palace built by the Empress Dowager Tz'u Hsi.

Venerable ancestor: the life and times of Tz'u Hsi, 1835-1908, Empress of China.