Every emperor must have a garden where he may stroll and relax his heart.’ So believed the Qianlong Emperor, whose ‘Garden of Perfect Brightness’ displayed a variety of pavilions, lakes and fountains, blending Chinese and Western elements. Another great park was laid out in the mountains near Chengde; it was much admired by the first British visitors in 1793. By now views of these gardens had reached England, stimulating the fashion for landscape gardening. In the Forbidden City itself are ancient junipers, ‘scholars’ rocks’, peonies and other flowers; ‘Qianlong’s garden’ includes spectacular trompe-l’oeil floral effects, which have recently been restored.