Summer Palace

The Summer Palace is an Asian Wonder only available in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. It can be built out of a selection of five Wonders in order for a player to advance into the next Age.

Bonuses
It slowly produces any of the six banner armies of the player's choice that are available from the War Academy. Banner armies can only be spawned if available in that Age, and take about six to seven times longer to be spawned than to be trained at the War Academy.

Shipments
This Wonder provides a number of food crates. It is most commonly build while advancing to the Colonial Age, as the food is very helpful for aging quickly to the Fortress Age. Also, the units it provides over time are helpful when defending during the transition to the Fortress Age, and also provide a nice boost to the army later on.


 * Colonial Age: 400 food (4 food crates)
 * Fortress Age: 1,000 food (2 large food crates)
 * Industrial Age: 1,500 food (3 large food crates)
 * Imperial Age: 2,000 food (4 large food crates)

History
"The Summer Palace is the archetypal Chinese garden, and is among the most noted and classical gardens of the world. The Old Summer Palace was constructed in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) during the succeeding reigns of feudal emperors; by the time of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it had “become a luxurious retreat providing royal families with rest and entertainment. Originally called “Qingyi Garden” (Garden of Clear Ripples), it was part of the famous “three hills and five gardens”: Longevity Hill, Jade Spring Mountain, Fragrant Hill, Garden of Clear Ripples, Garden of Everlasting Spring, Garden of Perfection and Brightness, Garden of Tranquility and Brightness, and Garden of Tranquility and Pleasure. An Anglo-French invasion force destroyed the garden during the second Opium War. In 1888 the Dowager Empress Cixi rebuilt the garden and renamed it the Summer Palace (Yiheyuan). Centered on the Tower of Buddhist Incense (Foxiangge) the Summer Palace consists of over 3,000 structures, including pavilions, towers, bridges, and corridors. Composed mainly of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, The Summer Palace occupies an area of 294 hectares (726.5 acres), three quarters of which is water. Guided by nature, artists designed the gardens so that visitors would see marvelous views and be amazed by perfect examples of refined craftwork and the finest materials."