Summer Palace

I was really excited to go to the Summer Palace. The pictures we saw of it before we went there were amazing. But of course, the visibility was horrible, so it wasn't quite as nice as the pictures we saw in our book. But it was still fun to see!



The Summer Palace was a retreat for the Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties during the hot summer months. It's located on a private lake.

The view when we first walked in the entrance.

The group at the entrance.

Guardian Lion. One of the many we saw. You can tell this one is the female because of the little cub under her left paw.

Guardian Lions again.

The visibility was bad (surprise, surprise!) but there are some pretty cool buildings across the lake.

Zoomed in.

A large group gathered together for some Tai Chi. Our tour guide says they meet there all the time.

This grass was collected from the bottom of the lake. They use it to feed the pigs.

There were tons of people who would dip their large paint brushes into water and write on the grounds. These are not Chinese characters. I forget what language it is, but I absolutely loved it! I just think it looks so cool!

This is where on of the Emperors was held prisoner during his rein.

Oh and the guy in yellow is our tour guide, Stanley :)

A view through the window into the living quarters of the 'prisoner'.

His bed.

If you look closely, you can see the outline of the door that used to exist before they turned the building into the Emperor's Prison.

We loved the details on the beams!

Big bonsai tree.

Entrance to the Long Corridor.

This hallway went on for so long. The beams and ceilings have over 14,000 paintings!

It was kind of crowded that day!

Here I am in the hallway :)

Pretty

Part of the beams and the bottom half of the ceiling. So cool!

This guy asked to take a picture with Matt. I was cracking up! I can imagine this guy saying to his friend, 'Look a tall white guy! I want a picture with him!' Ha Ha!

Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha. We didn't climb up there.

A very decorative gate. That's the lake behind it.

The decorative gate with me under it and the tower in the background.

I loved this picture because it shows the curve in the Long Corridor.

How awesome does this look?!

The group in the Long Corridor.

The Marble Boat.

Here is Percy next to the dragon boat we took across the lake.

I was so happy when I found out we would be riding this! It even has a tail on the back of the boat :)

View from the boat.

Another view from the boat.