Summer Palace
Several people (and the guide books) had recommended a visit to the Summer Palace (Yíhé Yuán), and so we headed there for our day’s outing. The subway was great as usual, but we couldn’t find the right bus routes near the subway station and so we eventually headed there by taxi instead.
It was another day of heavy smog in Běijīng, but Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill were still beautiful despite this. It is clearly a very popular destination for family outings and has many stalls and restaurants throughout – a complete contrast with the Forbidden City. With the gardens and water it felt much cooler, so we could see why the Qing emperors liked to escape the heat of the Forbidden City for their Summer Palace.
We had a short boat trip across Kunming Lake and walked the full length of the Long Corridor. After walking through some of the old pavilions and watching some music and dance performances on the old theatre stage, we wandered a winding route through the lovely garden areas of Longevity Hill before finally heading down to Suzhou Street for a late lunch.
After running hard throughout the day it was hardly surprising that Liam fell asleep during the bus trip back into the city! We were all fairly tired after several busy days, so we finished with an early night.
It was another day of heavy smog in Běijīng, but Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill were still beautiful despite this. It is clearly a very popular destination for family outings and has many stalls and restaurants throughout – a complete contrast with the Forbidden City. With the gardens and water it felt much cooler, so we could see why the Qing emperors liked to escape the heat of the Forbidden City for their Summer Palace.
We had a short boat trip across Kunming Lake and walked the full length of the Long Corridor. After walking through some of the old pavilions and watching some music and dance performances on the old theatre stage, we wandered a winding route through the lovely garden areas of Longevity Hill before finally heading down to Suzhou Street for a late lunch.
After running hard throughout the day it was hardly surprising that Liam fell asleep during the bus trip back into the city! We were all fairly tired after several busy days, so we finished with an early night.
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