BEIJING
THE ASIAN SERIES PT14
As expected The Summer Palace was amazing, Tina had showed me photos and said she was there for 6hours. At the time I found hard to believe as I thought it was just a building but I ended up hanging around for over 3 hours and I like to do things quickly.
The Summer Palace
THE SUMMER PALACE
The Palace is dominated by Longevity Hill and covers an area of almost 3km2 overlooking the Kunming Lake. I was surprised how few people were in the Palace, it’s not until you walk outside that you realise where they are all hiding. After visiting the palace up close, its best to walk around to Nanhu Island to get different perspective.
The Summer Palace
SNEAKY PHOTOS
Here I noticed a few locals trying to take a photo of me enjoying the view, something I don’t mind but can only imagine what would happen if I were to take photos of someone at home. This happens all the time in China but if caught they just smile and move on. I’m getting into the habit of taking their camera and taking a selfie before handing it back to them, which to be fair usually opens the floodgates!
RELATED READ: DIVING GREAT WHITES
KITE FLYING
On the bridge of Nanhu Island there is the most impressive kite flying you will ever see. These weren’t any old kites these were about 3 metres wide and flew about 400metres away, pretty cool to see! The days of kids flying kites back home are looooong gone!
The streets around this area are fascinating and are worth getting lost in, no Starbucks or Walls Ice Cream umbrellas to be seen, just 100% real China.
SUMMER PALACE:
- The Chinese name translate to Nourishing Peace Garden
- In the summer months the Imperial families preferred the airy gardens here than the humid walled Forbidden City
- Built in 1750 by Emperor Qianglong
- It was partially destroyed in 1860 by the Anglo-French and rebuild in 1886.
- It has the longest covered promenade in the world – Long Corridor
- In 1998 it was declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site
FINAL THOUGHTS
What an incredible place China is and for the most part the extend of it’s history was unbeknown to me! I couldn’t help but be in aw of it from day 1, anyone who enjoys significant history, architecture and photography must visit China! For my China Reflection post, click here.
NEXT UP
Heading onto Seoul in South Korea for some live squid, egg shots and to visit the infamous DMZ/North Korea border! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
31/229
This episode is part of The Asian Series. Click to view episode1.
