Today was the summer palace and I must say, it has been my favorite destination thus far. The summer palace is where the emperor could take a close vacation to. The palace is made up of many buildings which stretch far across the grounds. We climbed some nerve wracking stairs to reach a high temple honoring Guan Yin. All the wood was painted in bright colors, some with detailed scenes of China’s history. After touring the grounds and walking up to the temple, we took paddle boats out onto the lake. The lake was man made to honor one of the emperor’s mothers. The boats were a lot of fun and quite a work out. I enjoyed Vivien singing us traditional Chinese songs on the lake. It was very serene, however the hazy day took away some of the beauty.
After the boat ride, we entered a small series of shops. There, I bought some porcelain jewelry boxes for my family and had my fortune told. The fortune teller was a really unique man. He looked up my Chinese zodiac sign and let me pick my fortune from a mysterious pile of papers. My fortune then meant peace and longevity which he painted onto a sign for me. Definitely my favorite souvenir from China.
Lunch today was quite an experience. It was a hot pot. Basically there is a pot in the table where you sit and you order a broth to boil your meat, noodles, and vegetables in. I ordered shrimp for my meat. Well little did I know that the shrimp came intact with shells and heads! Looking at the raw shrimp definitely did not improve my appetite but the experience was very nice and delicious.