We’re excited to do some sightseeing today.  We’re going to visit the “Summer Palace”.  It was the summer home of the Emperor’s family, and we’re told it’s a beautiful area.  Judy stayed up last night till 3:30 am.  She got on a roll with some of her schoolwork and lost track of time.  She’s tired as we head out, so we take a taxi.  There are two subway stations close to the Summer Palace, but a lot of walking and standing is involved.  Also, you can’t “see Beijing” from a subway tunnel.  There are some great views as we make the trip.

We arrive and wander in.  There is admission charged ($10 each).  An English-speaking college-age guy steps up and offers to “guide” us.  We decline, purchase our tickets, and start toward the gate.  Enroute, I notice a kiosk for digital audio players with descriptions about the “Summer Palace”.  We need to know something about the area, so it seems like a good idea.  I get in line, and here comes the “guide” again.  This time he convinces me he can give us a better experience than an audio player and the price ($25) for a private guide seems fair.  We head in.

He does a great job!  He’s very personable and has good knowledge.  He presents the information well.  We see some wonderful sights and really enjoy the day.  One of the most interesting stops was  a “singing” area.  We heard singing in the distance and asked John (our guide), to take us to the source.  We arrived and there was a big crowd of older people singing in “full voice”.  There were some instruments accompanying (sax, trombone, trumpet, and a snare drum).  The most interesting part for us was the total enthusiasm everyone had for singing.  Someone had passed out books.  We shot video, but it’s too much for the website.  John said they were patriotic songs.  Those people were serious about the singing.

One very small section of the “Long Corridor”. It’s the longest wooden corridor in the world. The Emperor used it to walk from one section of the Summer Palace to another. Each painting is different, and there are over 10,000 of them.

We climbed to the highest point in the Summer Palace area that was accessible, over 200 stairs according to John (we believe him).  There are great views.  After we recover from the climb, we head down, and John puts us on one of the ferries that cross Kunming Lake.  The ferry pilot is constantly having to honk at paddle boats in his path.   The “Summer Palace” is one of those “WOW” spots with so much history and beauty, combined in one place.

Over 200 steps to reach the “Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha”. It’s a lot of steps, but we couldn’t pass up the chance for the view. It was worth it!

The view from the top! Check out all the paddle boats on Kunming Lake, and the ferry at the bottom and on the right side of the picture. The island is the South Lake Island. It’s connected to the mainland by the “17 Arches Bridge”. The island was built by over 100,000 laborers during the 1800’s.

It’s the “Goddess of a Thousand Hands”. (the statue that is)

The “Seventeen Arches Bridge” connecting “South Lake Island” to the mainland.

We taxi home, and spend most of the rest of the day recovering from our excursion.  Judy finishes up schoolwork, and gives me a “Powerpoint” lesson, so I can begin to put together my first few days of school.  I head out late in the afternoon, looking for some ink for our printer.  I’ve been trying to find it for over a week.  Nobody carries ink?  I may have to order it online, and hope I can get our address correct for the delivery.  Can’t find an Office Depot anywhere.