The Yuanmingyuan Park in Beijing was burned and ransacked by British and French troops, while the Anglo-French expedition force invaded China during the Second Opium War in 1860. Photo: VCG

A man who was found to have stepped onto ruins of the Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace) in Haidian district, Beijing, was detained by local police for his act of damaging cultural relics.

According to a notice released by police in Haidian on Sina Weibo, a social media platform in China, after investigation, the 39-year-old man surnamed Li on September 8 entered ruins of Yuanyingguan Hall in the Yuanmingyuan park illegally, stepped on the ruins and took photos.

A video recording Li's behavior was previously released online by a tourist surnamed Chen. "I saw the man was standing on the ruins and held a mobile phone to take photos, which made me very angry, as there were a notice board with words 'no entry.' How could he pretend not to see it?"

Chen said, "This is the evidence of how the French and British troops set fire to the Old Summer Palace. It is not an amusement park, and how dare he step on it!"

The man was later found by staff of the park. After persuasion, Li took his time walking outside the ruins area and continued to visit other sites without any sign of regret, which attracted many criticism from netizens.

The Old Summer Palace was built as a resort for emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in a mix of Chinese and European styles. It was looted and burned to the ground in 1860 by French and British troops.