Millionaire plans to rebuild China’s pride

A peasant farmer-turned-multi-millionaire entertainment entrepreneur is hoping to build a £1.4bn replica of the scene of one of China's greatest national humiliations. Xu Wenrong plans to construct an imitation of the Garden of Perfect Brightness - a stately pleasure dome of lakes, gardens and palaces once enjoyed by Chinese emperors - as part of a vast 'Chinese Hollywood' project.

The 18th century Garden of Perfect Brightness, the ruins of which lie outside Beijing, was destroyed by British and French troops in 1860 during the Opium Wars as revenge for the killing of prisoners held by Emperor Xianfeng. Charles Gordon – of Khartoum fame – who was then a captain in the Royal Engineers, wrote at the time: "You can scarcely imagine the beauty and magnificence of the palaces we burnt... It was wretchedly demoralising work for an army."

Xu, 73, who made his money from films and tourism, plans to build his 'Chinese Hollywood' in Zhejian. The project has the backing of the local Communist party which believes the new garden will be the perfect setting for imperial soap operas, which are popular with domestic audiences.  

But critics decry Xu's attempt to turn the lost garden - the fate of which is taught to schoolchildren as a reminder of China's past weakness at the hands of foreigners - into a theme park. China Daily said: "The ruins are a cultural heritage under state protection and should not be used for business purposes."

Xu is unperturbed: "The burning and destruction of the Garden of Perfect Brightness was a humiliation for our country. Building a new garden is a good deed to wipe away this disgrace.”"The millionaire is encouraging people to buy into his plan. Anyone who donates £350,000 or more will be honoured with a full-size gold statues of themselves on the site, which he hopes to open in 2013. ·