Summer Palace

The Summer Palace was on our agenda today, and what a gorgeous day it was! It was low twenties, sunny, and clear. It's been in the high teens so it was nice to have warmer weather for strolling the grounds and enjoying the day.

The Summer Palace is in the northwest corner of the city, so it was a bit of trip, but well worth it. It was originally built in the mid 1700's, but was rebuilt after the Anglo-French opium war. It's mostly a large man made lake, and several temples and other beautifully architected buildings situation on Longevity Hill which was also man made from the earth removed to make the lake.

We had a nice walk through the grounds and climbed up Longevity Hill. The girls had great fun because there were large boulders and rocks to climb on and even a little cave to explore. Nadim and I read our books for a bit while the girls played on the rocks and found caves for their Polly Pockets.

We moved on to walk along the lake's edge where we saw willow trees that had been planted when the Palace was first built, 250 years ago. They really try to preserve them. Some have posts holding up heavy branches or metal bands holding the trunks together.
At the top of the hill we took the above picture. Later in the day we took a boat complete with a dragon's head on the front of it to the island in the picture and crossed the seventeen arch bridge to go back to the main gate.

At another point we stopped while the kids played. Nadim and I played a game of cards while an old woman crooned to music that she was listening to on her head phones. It was pretty awful, but we didn't want to give up our bench. Besides, it was kind of funny. We were glad when she eventually decided to take a nap.

It was a great way to spend the day. This was the last item on our list of things to see in Beijing. Nadim and I were both commenting today that we're ready to move on now.

CM