More inspiring sights of Beijing
People i met here, who contributed to and improved my trip: Juliana (Russia), Ed (England), Harry (England)
Our last two days in Beijing were spent packing in as many of the wonderful sites as possible, whilst dealing with our worsening colds and sickness. On Thursday we caught a bus out to the Summer Palace on the outskirts of Beijing and spent the entire day walking around Kunming lake and visiting the various sites. Points of interest included a Buddhist Fragrance Hall, Cloud Dispelling Hall and a 17 arch bridge leading to South Lake Island. The star attraction though in my opinion was a boat made completely from marble, ordered by Empress Cixi. This money should have been spent on revamping the Chinese navy, which was consequently humiliated in several naval battles!
We spent the entire night shopping in the hutong, buying 100 DVDs (30 quid) for me and a new rucksack (a fiver) for Julia.
Friday was a hectic day, but we managed to squeeze in some more cool sites including the White Cloud Temple, Lama Temple and Jingshan Park. We arrived in te park just as the sun was going down over the red tiled roofs of the Forbidden City. After sprinting up the mountain, we managed to catch some pretty breathtaking panoramic views of Beijing. After this we visited the site where the last Ming Emperor, Chongzhen, hung himselffrom a locust tree as rebels came to capture the capital and overthrow him. We caught a bicycle rickshaw to Tiannamen Square for one last look, before going back to the hostel to gather our belongings, say goodbye to Ed and Harry and catch the night train to Datong.
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