The Summer Palace

Temperatures have dropped to the mid 20s and the cooler fall weather means pollution disappears and there are blue skies and sunshine for a few glorious weeks. It’s perfect weather for visiting parks around Beijing – so on Thursday afternoon, I hopped on a bus with Chris and Craig for a 15 minute ride to 颐和园 Yiheyuan - The Summer Palace. It's the largest imperial garden still in existence and served as a place the Empress Dowager Cixi to escape the summer heat. It’s also a nice place to spend a fall afternoon. We stopped at all the main attractions such as the Long Corridor and the Stone Boat, with the numbers of tourists thinning out as we walked further into the grounds, following the path around 昆明湖 Kun Ming Lake.

After walking for 2 hours, we realized that we sorely misjudged the distance around the lake but we were already halfway around and there was nothing to do but plod onwards until we returned to the entrance. The sun was low in the sky and we had a chance to see the garden in lovely evening light and peace and quiet since few tourists wander as far as we did. The sky was dark when we finally returned to the entrance; it was eerie and completely disorienting to see buildings and grounds that were teeming with tourists just few hours ago stand dark and empty instead. Just as we started to wonder what we’d do if we were lost and locked inside the Summer Palace a lady who looked like she knew where she was going strolled by. We followed her as she walked towards a closed gate whereupon an old man waiting there unlocked the gate to let her out. It was almost 8pm by the time we left finally left the grounds – nearly three hours after the Summer Palace closed to visitors!

Summer Palace photos are posted here.