Summer Palace

Yesterday, my study abroad program treated the group to a trip to the Summer Palace. The weather yesterday was pretty reasonable, but only in comparison to previous days. 
We went pretty late in the day, which meant we couldn't go inside the buildings, or to the Royal Shrine, but it was also a lot less crowded. Yesterday was also a national holiday, so a lot of people were out touring the city. It was a worthwhile trade off. 


When we got off the bus, street vendors instantly flocked to us, selling watches, Mao memorabilia, and Summer Palace goodies. I ended up getting a Chanel watch for the equivalent of $7. Hahaha. I'm waiting to see when it stops working. Later today we are going to the Great Wall of China, so I'll be sure to post the pictures from that soon. 

There was a rickshaw outside the Summer Palace with the McDonalds logo. I'm not sure why, or what it means...

Entrance to the Palace area.

This was supposed to be a Chinese Unicorn. It protected the Palace and foreign dignitaries from Small Pox.  

I've decided that this is Mushu from Mulan. Except in real life it was the spiritual protector for men. 

The Phoenix is a traditional Chinese symbol of women and it was also their spiritual protector.  

These are in a lot of places around Beijing. When trees get too big to support their own weight, these structures are made to support the tree in it's continued life.

Because the railings are what's important here....

The longest continuous walkway in the world. It's a little under a mile long, and is hand painted the entire length. Please see the video at the bottom for more. 

The Summer Palace lake/pond. You can rent boats and go out on nice days.

An example of the paintings. 

The Royal Temple. Our tour guide gave an excellent explanation of the Chinese "religion." Because there was no national religion in many places, but many outlaying regions of China did have religious affiliation, this temple was built. Basically, people could come here and worship China, or the Emperor, who was the physical manifestation of China. Because the religions practiced inside of China, people could come here and worship the nation of China, while still being true to their own religion. It was a really clever way to have a "national" religion while still allowing people to do whatever they want. 

Friday was a national holiday, the Dragon Boat Festival/Summer Solstice. Dragon Boats were everywhere.

After we got back from the Summer Palace, a friend and I adventured through campus to find dinner. Cats are literally everywhere on campus, and they are HUGE. 

Dinner!

Here is the video of the walkway. Please keep in mind that the walkway was a little under a mile long, and that everything you see was hand painted.