Summer Palace

We got up fairly early today, as we have a big itinerary planned!   In addition to the Summer Palace, (A must-see location when in Beijing)  we also wanted to see the Beijing Zoo, and the Llama Temple.   We did NOT want to take a guided tour (especially after only getting an hour and a half on the Great Wall yesterday)    but we were worried about getting reliable taxi transportation to and from the various locations...especially considering our previous experience trying to get back from the Temple of Heaven!  We decided to rent a car and driver for the day...between the 4 of us, it wasn't that much more than several taxi rides would be, but we had the peace of mind of being able to come and go as we pleased, and spend as much time at a place as we liked.

  We figured having our own driver for the day was well worth it, especially on our last day here!   The concierge had set it up for us the night before, and the driver met us right on time in the hotel lobby!    He didn't speak any English, but the concierge told him what are plans were, and off we went.  First stop, Summer Palace!

The four of us piled into a black Audi (Lee sat in front)  and it was a little cramped, but we all felt it was much better than a bus tour!  We now had the freedom to come and go where and when we pleased, as this guy was ours for the day!  It didn't seem to take long at all to get to the Summer Palace... our driver parked in the McDonalds parking lot across the street from the North Entrance, then settled in for a nap while we went exploring!   It was comforting to know he would be here when we got back,  and we wouldn't have to waste half the day dealing with taxis.

  I wish we had done this the day we went to the Great Wall!

We walked in through the North Palace Gate, which is a two-storeyed gate where Emperor Qianlong's mother used to come watch the cavalry excercises of the Vanguard Battalion stationed outside the gate.  It is also known as the Military Review Tower.  From the North Gate, we walked straight ahead to "SuZhou Market Street"    It was modeled after the town of SuZhou in South China, known as "The Venice of the East"    This area served as an entertainment place where Emperors and their concubines could feel as if they were strolling along a commercial street, like the world outside...where they rarely actually ventured!  When the royals went there, maids and eunuchs would play-act as peddlers, customers and shop assistants  to mimic real-life market activities!  Anything to let the royals try to feel "normal", I guess!  The bridges were tall enough to let "gondolas" pass under them.

..in fact, we saw a guy poling his way along as we crossed over the bridge!   The shops that we see here today, however, are not original.  The SuZhou Street market shops were first built in the 1700's,  during the reign of Emperor Qianlong.  They were burned and destroyed by the Anglo-French allied forces in 1860.  They weren't rebuilt until 1986, over a hundred years later!  The store clerks are typically dressed in Qing Dynasty costumes.

After crossing the bridge, we climbed up many steps to enter the "Four Great Regions", a Tibetan style temple built on and into the hillside.  Many of these buildings were also damaged or destroyed in the war of 1860, and renovated not long ago.  Passing through the Temple and rock gardens to the top of Longevity Hill, you come across DuoBao Glazed Pagoda, a Buddhist Temple glazed in green and yellow tiles, many depicting the Buddha.

  Many of the Buddha tiles within easy reach have the head of the Bhudda chopped off- a legacy of the Cultural Revolution!  

From the top of Longevity Hill, you also have great views of the Lake, and also the "Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha" also known as the  "Pavilion of the Buddhist Fragrance".  It seems to be one of the largest buildings here in the complex, so we headed there next! It was somewhere around here that Dave got separated from the rest of us.  The tower (or pavillion) is a three story octagonal structure with four tiers of eaves, an example of fine Chinese architecture. It, along with "Cloud Dispelling Hall", takes up most of the south side of Longevity Hill.  41 meters tall and  built on a base of carved marble, and surrounded by a terrace with marble railings, these large ornate buildings were where emperors and empresses received congratulations at their birthday ceremonies.

We toured around the Pavilion, taking many pictures of course, although we were not allowed to take pictures inside.   Because it is a place of worship, and those that were not tourists were actively praying inside, we respected the signs restricting photography inside the Tower itself.  (I wish I could say that everyone was similerly respectful, but that was not the case!)  When we finished our walk around the Tower, we were ready to continue our tour down to the lake...but we were still a man short!   Not wanting to go too much further into this huge complex with one of us missing, we wanted to find Dave before we continued on.  Doug volunteered to go back to the Four Great Regions Temple area to look for him, while Lee and I stayed behind at the base of the huge stone staircases, figuring if Dave came this way before Doug found him, he wouldn't miss us.

  No man left behind!!

We waited about 10 minutes there, studying our maps and figuring out what we wanted to do next, when we saw a Yankee cap bobbing up and down on the stairwell...when it got lower, we saw that Dave's head was attached..with Doug right behind.  Found him!   All right, we can move on now.    We made our way down a long narrow passageway that led down to the lake...barely wide enough  to let people pass who were coming up.  When we got to the bottom, we walked by the Glowing Clouds and Holyland Archway, and headed west along the lake shore.

Our goal was to go see the Marble Boat, then walk back alont the shoreline to the Seventeen-Arch Bridge.  The Marble Boat was built in the late 1800's, when the Summer Palace was restored by Dowager Empress CiXi, with funds embezzled from the Imperial Navy.

  In 1888, she ordered the reconstruction and enlargement of the Palace grounds, which continued for 10 years.  After completion, she renamed the gardens "YiHeYuan", which means Garden of Peace and Harmony. 

The Marble boat was completed in 1893, using money that had been earmarked for the creation of a modern Chinese Navy. The order to divert the funds was quietly issued by Empress CiXi in collusion with corrupt court eunuchs.  The marble base of the boat was originally a platform for a Ming Dynasty Buddhist monastery where fish and birds intended for the marketplace were released by the devout in order to gain karmic merit.  The ship itself is a reproduction of a steam paddleboat.    So,  Empress CiXi diverted funds meant to make real ships, in order to build this fake one!  Ahh--it's good to be the queen.

  

  The guys started making fun of me for taking so many pictures in this area.  Annoyed, I walked ahead of them and started working my way down the long corridor, towards the eastern shore of KunMing Lake.

The Long Corridor was originally built in the 15th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1750) and then rebuilt in the 12th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1886) because the Anglo-French Allied Forces burned it down in 1860. It starts from Inviting the Moon Gate in the east and ends at Shizhang Pavilion in the west, covering a distance of 728 meters with its 273 sections. Of all the corridors in Chinese classical gardens, the Long Corridor is the longest.   The Long Corridor stretches symmetrically to the east and the west along the foot of the hill and the water bank, linking all the structures scattered along the Longevity Hill side into a whole.

     Walking way ahead of the guys, I eventually came to the Heralding Spring Pavilion, along the east shore of the lake.  A tiny bridge led to this small rocky outcrop of an island,  jutting out into the lake.   There were some people picnicking there, as this island offers wonderful views of the lake, Longevity Hill, and Seventeen Arches Bridge.  While I was exploring it, I saw the guys pass me without noticing and continue south along the lake shore.  I walked back across the bridge and followed them, towards the Bronze Ox Statue where we had agreed to meet.   The guys didn't see me trailing them, and thought I was far ahead...they were surprised when I arrived at the Ox after they did!

Cast in the 20th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1736-1795), this statue was also called the "Golden Ox".

  Crouching on the carved stone base, It is said that the bronze ox was positioned here to keep the floods down. Inscribed on the back of the ox is an ode of eighty words entitled "Inscriptions on the Golden Ox". It was written by Emperor Qianlong in a traditional style of Chinese calligraphy known as seal characters.  The Ox statue was not as imposing as the guidebooks and brochure had made it out to be. We were expecting this huge statue, but it was barely the size of a real ox!   

 It was just before the Seventeen Arches Bridge, but we didn't go on the bridge itself... the guys were in a hurry to get to our next destination, the Beijing Zoo.   We bought tickets to one of the Dragon Boats, and it carried us back across the lake.

   We hopped onto the boat at the dock, and were just settling in when we were told we were not on the boat we bought a ticket for.  Our boat was just pulling in to the dock.  How were we to know, they all look the same!   We switched boats, and it wasn't long before we were under way.   There were only a few other passengers aboard, so we were able to change our seats based on whatever photographic opportunities presented themselves.  It was apparent from out on the lake, just how large and imposing the Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha was!  It was looming high over Longevity Hill, while most of the other buildings only rose to treetop level.   It was nice to have another perspective of the Palace while we returned to the north shore.   The boat dropped us off at the dock that was right near the Marble Boat, where we had started out. 

We visited the gift shop near the dock and across from the Marble Boat, so we could get some sodas and souvenirs.  I bought some magnets (of course) and then, following the map on our guide pamphlet, we walked a path around the back way, and crossed some ornate bridges to get back out by the North Gate.  We crossed the street, woke our driver who was napping in the car in the McDonalds parking lot, and instructed him to take us to our next destination... the Beijing Zoo!