10/27/2017 - Summer Palace

In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace in its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design”. The Summer Palace in Bejing was first built in 1750, largely destroyed in the war of 1860 and restored on its original foundation in 1886. The Palace was the summer retreat of China’s ancient emperors. As soon as Beijing became too hot, the emperor, his empress, concubines and entire staff traveled to the Palace. The Summer Palace was first built by emperor Qianlong as a gift for his mother’s birthday. 

Here we are in front of a Quilin, one of many animals keeping guard at the entrance of the Summer Palace.

The Qilin (kirin) is a mythical hooved creature.  Generally, these creatures have Chinese dragon-like features, most notably their heads, eyes with thick eyelashes, manes that always flow upward and beards. The body is fully or partially scaled and often shaped like an ox, deer, or horse.  Qilin are thought to be a symbol of luck, good omens, protection, prosperity, success, and longevity. 

The Marble Boat is a lakeside pavilion built in the shape similar to a paddle-wheeler. It was made in 1775 with a base constructed of marble-like stone bricks and a wooden superstructure done in a traditional Chinese design and painted to imitate marble. The boat sits immobile on the north shore of the man made lake of the Summer Palace. It was never intended to leave its location and was mainly built for the mother of the emperor to have tea on the second deck.          

The Long Corridor was first erected in 1750. It is famous for its length (2365 ft) in conjunction with its richly painted decoration (more than 14,000 paintings). The corridor was constructed when the Qianlong Emperor commissioned work to convert the area into an imperial garden for the emperor’s mother to enjoy a walk protected from the elements.             

Our tour guide Bella guided us to the Great Wall and to the Summer Palace.