Summer Palace

On Sunday, March 22nd, Mom and I went over to the Summer Palace. It was the summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi. In 1998, the Summer Palace was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. UNESCO says that the Summer Palace is "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value."

In the next few weeks, all the trees will bloom and the place will be packed with visitors. The day we went was crowded but not nearly as crowded as it soon will be.

We saw some animal statues.

Here is the Seventeen-Arch Bridge. (We were on the far side of Kunming Lake.)

Yu Feng Pagoda in the distance.

We were going to walk up a tall hill. Mom thought we should take this path:

...but this one was nearby:

We minded the hilly road.

And saw the Palace.

We admired the stained-glass windows on the Marble Boat.

And we weren't quite sure if this sign was warning us or insulting us.

The day was beautiful and Mom and I had a great time walking around the grounds of the Summer Palace.

--Sarah and Mom--