Beijing , Capital of China
Summer Palace
Summer Palace is the most famous site in Beijing after the Forbidden City and the Great wall. It is one of the finest sights in Beijing.
Summer Palace has long been a royal garden and was considerably enlarged by the Qin Emperor Xianlong in the 18th century. It was later abandonded and the Dowager Cixi began rebuilding it in 1888 using the oney that was supposedly reserved for the construction of a modern navy. She also restored a marble boat that sits immobile at the edge of the lake. (this is shown on the left ).
Marble boat
The palace has four parts, court reception, residences, temples and strolling or sightseeing areas. Three quarters of the park is occupied by Kunming lake with longevity hill surrounding it . The main building is the Benevolence and Longevity hall, just off the lake. It houses a hardwood throne and has a courtyard with bronze animals. This hall is used by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager to meet their royal courts and receive foreign diplomats.
17 arch bridge.
A few architectures are famous in the Summer Palace.
The 17 arch bridge is built from white stone. It has a 150 me span with the engravement of almost 544 different lions on it.
Jade belt bridge is also an interesting site. It is built from white marble and white stone, thus its name. The bridge is also famous for its high arch. (Shown on left).
Leshou Gong (happy longevity palace) is where Emperess Dowger Cixi lived. It faces Kunming lake with Longevity Hill at the back of it. If you visit it today, you will be able to relive the old time again because all of the decoration has not been changed.
Long corridor is the world's longest corridor. It measures 728m, has 273 rooms with more than 14000 paintings on the wall. The paintings may look very new, that is because most of them are repainted after the culture revolution.
White marble Boat is what the Summer palace is famous for. The immobile boat was made from white marble and signifies the longevity of the Qing Dynasty.
Jade belt bridge
Leshou Gong
Long Corridor
Long Corridor
Great Wall
The Great wall is what China takes its pride in. You see it on T.V., see it in books about China and everyone wants to visit it! Great Wall is also known as 10,000 li wall because of its span. It stretcheds from Shanghaiguan Pass in Manchuria to Jiayuguan Pass in the Gobi Desert in Western China. The wall began 2000 years ago during the Qin Dynasty and has undergone nuermous reconstruction since then. The origional purpose of the wall -- too defend the enermies -- was never carried out. However, it did work very well as a kind of elevated high way, transporting men and equipment across mountainous terrain, its tower system, using smoke, transmitted news of enemy movements quickly back to the capital, and the Jiayuguan Pass, an important link on the Silk road, was where custom post was built.
