[See more pictures of the beautiful Summer Palace]
For my last day I didn’t need to leave for the airport until about 3 pm and so I decided to take a trip to the Summer Palace. The original palace was destroyed by the 8 Allied Powers and my guide book recommended against it as mostly being a nationalistic complaint. That said, it did get a picture in the Baltimore Sun that made it look like an interesting ruin, so maybe I’ll stop by next time.
The intact palace was built back in 1750 but was most strongly associated with the later Empress Dowager Cixi and is a sprawling park with a range of temples, courtyards, and gardens. To a greater extent than at the Forbidden Palace, many of the buildings have been converted into antiquities museums. Sadly most of the indoor museums didn’t allow pictures, but that’s no different than the West. This is my kind of palace really. I like big castles and fortresses well enough, but when it comes to Palaces I prefer them broken up and generally park-like.
The picture above is from the Garden of Harmonious Interests which was quite delightful. There were actually a few different choirs, amateur I'd think, that were performing in the various stages, a phenomenon I saw elsewhere in the Summer Palace and back in Xi'an. They didn't always live up to the name of the garden. After leaving the Garden we swung by the a stage/palace area which had live shows. After that, wandering by yet more pretty buildings, we came to a museum with a neat range of historical artifacts. Not quite up to Shanxii Provincial museum standards but none too shabby.
We'd actually bought the fully inclusive ticket in advance, I think it was a good deal if you have the time, all the special locations were worth it. I'm not sure I can say the same of my 2 yuan Corn popsicle, it was unique but that's about all I could say for it. Also, on a tourist advisory note, use bathrooms whenever you can, they're hard to find.
Recent Comments