The Summer Palace was the Imperial escape from the heat of lower Beijing. Particularly loved by the Empress Dowager Cixi at the end of the 19th Century, it was the site of much of her political power and plotting. She kept one of the emperors essentially captive in one building here for several years. She was the real power for many years, and her corruption thwarted the attempts to modernize the country, and ultimately led to the overthrow of the Imperial family. This statue was in one of the ones at the entrance to the Palace. The dragon is the symbol for male power.