When we were told that the Summer Palace was built because the emperor felt that the Imperial City was too uncomfortable, I could barely hold my contempt for the outrageous opulence of these emperors. A comparison today would be the president having an entire Las Vegas casino as his personal dwelling, and then having another one built a few miles away. It is outrageous. But I have to admit after seeing the Summer Palace that the Chinese emperors knew how to build for comfort. The Summer Palace was astonishingly beautiful and huge. The gardens alone would have made it an attraction in the United States. Not to mention the huge lake that was encircled by the palace itself. Even the walkways between buildings were overly ornate; between each pillar was a painting that described a part of Chinese history. The time and work that it must have taken to build that place must have been enormous, as every detail is perfect and articulate.
One of the first places we went to was the Buddhist temple specifically for the Summer Palace. It took some climbing to get up there. I am not normally afraid of heights. I am, however, very afraid of poorly constructed long staircases. I kept a death grip on the railings of these steps as most of the steps were slanted down, which was even more unsettling. Once we reached the top however, the view of the lake alone made the trip worth it. I could now see that it was in the shape of a peach, with a bridge and island exactly marking out the rut on the surface of a peach. Again, the attention to detail astonished me.
Later we went out on paddle boats and had races and naval battles with water bottles and a great deal of fun out on the lake. When we got back we headed over to the marble boat, which has to be one of the most prime examples of the opulent stupidity of one Chinese emperor. He had a boat built out of marble. Not only did the ship never go anywhere, it cost the nation and entire years funding for the navy. They lost a naval war shortly thereafter, to either the Russians or the Japanese, I forget which. I thought I was frustrated at the current political leadership of the world, but at least we don’t have it that bad.
Next we went to a small shopping strip that was right along a river. The cotton trees had put a lot of cotton in the air and it was especially beautiful along this stretch of shops. It was quaint and some of the shops were amazing. One such shop sold small carvings and etchings in rice grains. So small that each came with its own case and a built-in magnifying glass. I bought one that had a panda and said “I love you” for my girlfriend back home. I think she’ll like it.
When we returned to the area around our hotel, we ate at a hotpot restaurant. It seemed extremely strange at first. The basic principle was to order a pot over near-boiling water and fast cook vegetables, noodles, and meat in it. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it tasted amazing. The beef I ordered was so thinly cut that it flashed cooked in seconds. I also found that lettuce tasted very good after being cooked. Dumplings, however, were annoying. They could not be fished out easily and took great effort to retrieve from the pot, but this is my only complaint about the whole meal. Thank goodness I did not order the shrimp though; I don’t think I would have been able to take the heads off myself without too much nausea that would prevent me from eating it. My friends had no such qualms though.