The Summer Palace

Before heading to The Summer Palace we had lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant. The food was wonderful, but the bathroom was the attraction to be seen. Here are a couple of pictures of the bathroom sinks. (I think this place doubled as a night club....)


Affter lunch, we took a 30 minute bus ride to The Summer Palace. When we parked and got out there wasn't much to see from the outside. However, once inside the palace walls that you are struck with the awesome beauty of it.

The Summer Palace was orignally a small lake and intended as a respite from the heat of the city. Then, it was rebuilt as a birthday present for the Dragon Lady from her Nephew the Emporer. The buidlings are built similar to The Forbidden City. The lake was enlarged by manual labor, and all the dirt was used to make a mountain. On top of the mountian is a temple. We went out on the lake on the Dragon Boat and could see the entire strucure that wasn't visible when you were right underneath it. Words could never do this place any justice, so here are some pictures.