On Wed, we visited the Summer Palace after lunch at Matsuko.
The Summer Palace is also known as the Museum of Royal Gardens. Built in 1750 during the Qing Dynasty, it was originally known as the Qingyi Garden or Garden of Clear Ripples.
The empress dowager, Cixi built the Summer Palace as a holiday resort. Apparently she embezzled the navy funds to build the resort thus weakening the navy in the process.
In 1998, the Summer Palace became a World Heritage Site.
The first view of the Summer Palace is this beautiful bridge over the Kunming lake. The bridge is simply stunning in its facade.
Overhanging willow trees served as an awesome backdrop. Cruising the calm and huge lake on a dragon shaped boat, I wonder how the Chinese managed to build the stone bridge over the lake. Truly Chinese engineering is a marvel to behold!
Other attractions at the Palace are the Longevity Hill, pavilions tower bridges, corridors with traditional Chinese architecture, court areas, front hill area, hills area, rear hill area and lake area. The various court areas were well preserved. The court area was where the emperor Guangxu and empress Cixi greeted court officials and conducted state affairs.
Due to the smog over Beijing, we were unable to take clear pictures of this beautiful place.
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