Wednesday dawned clear and sunny yet again so Jessica and I decided to head to the Summer Palace. Upon seeing the weather, Jessica exclaimed, "It's because I'm here that we have nice weather!" My response? "We'll probably have a week of sandstorms to compensate." Since the summer palace is one big giant park, good weather was a must for an enjoyable wandering experience.
We took a cab to the palace from our hotel and had a really funny cabbie. He and I chatted (in Chinese) and he said that he really likes Obama, Bill Clinton and basketball. He also drove us about 1km extra after we paid, which we thought was very kind of him.
The Summer Palace was constructed starting in 1750 by Emperor Qianlong, who ruled the Qing dynasty famously for over 60 years. The complex is dominated by a large lake, known as Kunming lake, as well as Longevity Hill and many gardens, pavilions, walkways and bridges. Jessica and I agreed that it is perfect for 1) swanning about in your robes 2) being carried majestically in your robes in a litter and 3) driving a chariot around while in your robes. As you can see, glamorous robes would have added to the Summer Palace experience, but would have been troublesome as the day was quite windy.
The eastern entrance gate was clogged with tourists, almost entirely large Chinese tour groups, which muddle about in large clusters, almost always following a young lady toting a flag and all wear ugly, bright colored hats plastered with the name of the tour company. Jessica and I decided to get as far away from the crowds as possible, and so we started walking clockwise around the lake. We stopped at various auspiciously named locations such as "Hall of Jade Billows", "Hall of Benevolence and Longevity" and "Dragon King Temple." We wanted to rent a boat, but it was quite windy so the boats were all sadly tied up at the dock. As soon as we got away from the entrance area, the crows thinned out considerably.
The Summer Palace is famous for its Western Causeway, which divides the lake into a 1/3 size smaller portion and has beautiful bridges and temples. Even though it was very windy on that side, we enjoyed the bright sun and pleasant temperatures.
When we got back to the side of the lake where Longevity Hill is the crowds bulked up again, so we skipped ogling the marble boat of Empress Dowager Cixi (who built it because she was told by her advisers that China needed a navy... oops). We headed back towards the east gate by way of the Long Corridor (also great for swanning about in your robes) and caught a cab back to the hotel.
The Summer Palace was destroyed twice during the Empress Dowager's rule and she rebuilt it both times. It also displays the same shiny new paint job at major attractions that the Forbidden City received as a lead up to the Olympic games. It is a very pleasant and relaxing place to visit, as long as you skip the crowds who congregate at the northern end of the lake to see Longevity Hill and the marble boat. Jessica and I wanted to know how far we walked, so we found out the surface area of Kunming Lake, solved to find its radius, then found the circumference and discovered it's about 3.27 miles around. Added to the additional walking we did during the day (walking to Beida to get Jessica's ID and visiting the Nameless Lake on Beida's northern campus) we guesstimated a total of about 5 miles of walking! So, to celebrate, today we are getting a massage.
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