With the itinerary switched around entirely, all that was left to see this morning before catching the bullet train to Xi'an was the famous Summer Palace, about 15kms west of central Beijing.
It served the Qing dynasty as an imperial retreat from the stifling summer confines of the Forbidden City. Although it assumed its current layout under Emperor Qianlong (1736-95) it is most associated with Empress Dowager Cixi who had it rebuilt twice; once following its destruction by the French and English troops in 1860 and again in 1902 after it was plundered during the Boxer Rebellion.
Given the sheer numbers of people milling around, I don't think tranquil is going to be the buzz word of the day. I managed to get a couple of shots of the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity without people, but they don't show the full size.
The statues are made of bronze.
Given how modern Beijing is I was surprised to see this chap with a handcart.
I'm assuming this was a clothing hire shop.
We were here fairly early in the morning so maybe that's the reason for a strange colouration to some of the photos, or else it could be pollution.
Lake Kunming
This 17 arch bridge links South Lake Island to the mainland
The Tower of Buddhist Incense which sits above the lake on Longevity Hill
Arrowed is the 728m Long Corridor, the longest wooden covered corridor in the world.
The crowds were unbelievable and taking photos virtually impossible as you were pushed and shoved constantly. There were lots of large groups and it seems to us that no one could bear to be separated from their group by even a meter and became quite desperate if they were. There are some narrow areas which were seriously overcrowded and people behaved very badly; I got crushed against a low stone wall and cut/bruised my leg - I dread to think what would have happened if I'd fallen over.
Here's an image I got off the internet taken on a day when the palace was closed I would imagine.
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These are the best I could get, I wonder if the other photo is enhanced or it was taken soon after a repainting and the colours have now faded.
Having your photo taken and/or taking a selfie is a national obsession. From groups
To singletons.
Taking a selfie whilst on another phone is a new one though!
And someone was even photographing their doll by the lake.
The Wenchang Tower was built to resemble a city gate. It served as an important entry point into the Summer Palace from the east and south during the Qianlong Emperor's time.
At the very far end of the Long Corridor is the Marble Boat, an extravagant folly paid for by the Dowager Empress with funds that were meant for modernising the Imperial Navy. It's rather impressive except the superstructure is made of wood and painted white to look like marble.
Fortunately not many people had made the walk and it was quite peaceful around this area.
China is very short on wildlife, we've seen a couple of magpies but no other birds and this was the first butterfly.
I haven't a clue what these ladies were selling; I'm guessing boxes of sweets, but they look more like reams of coloured paper to me.
I can't find out which buildings these next two are, there seems to be conflicting info.
These foxglove type plants and iris were the only flowering plants we saw.
This guy had a giant water brush and was painting Chinese symbols on the pavements. The trouble was it was so hot, they dried almost instantly.
A rather "cocky" expression on this stone lion.
Our "little" group of 22 just escaped before this mob overwhelmed us.
