Travel With Danser to The Summer Palace-Sep. 2007 On Sep. 24th, 2007, we travel to The Summer Palace with my girl friend, we left home at early morning after a big breakfast, the cost for taking a taxi there was only about 35 RMB, we buy some food and 3 bottle of water for every one. The ticket for a full trip in the Summer Palace in busy season is 60 RMB, compare with the 30 RMB ticket, it includes 4 mroe entrance. We spend a whole day there, but still can not visit soutwest part of the Summer Palace because it's so big. So next time, I will suggest my client start earlier and enter Summer Palace at 8:30 when it just open. It is really worthy to spend the 60 RMB and a whole day in The Summer Palace, especially in a beautiful season, we took so many lovely pictures and had so much fun. There are many openings to entre the Summer Palace, I suggest to use the most famous one-The East Palace Gate. At 9am, it was already full of visitors and crowed, I hate crowed, so does my girl. But I think the newly repared building-Ren Shou Hall ( Hall of Benvolence and Longevity ) can not be missed. We take just a little pictures and talking about the story about Qi Lin, which is one of the nine sons of the Chinese Dragon. The trees in the courtyard were still green, no golden leaves no flowers, but in my memery, in the spring all the trees there in front the hall are covered with beautiful flower, and in the later autumn the leaves will turn into golden colour. The Hall is so fresh after repare which lasted for almost 1 year. Two flower vans are newly erected in front for pictures. But it's really hard to take a picture without other people inside, it is alway crowed there.

Later we turn right to the north to visit a palace called Garden within a Garden-Knowing Fish Garden ( Zhiyu Garden). I like the name Zhiyu, cause in Warring States Period, there was a empress who was the wife of King Goujin had a similar name-Ya Yu, which means elegance fish. Once we enter the small gateway on the right of the Ren Shou Hall, it became so quiet. We walk deeper and deeper inside the mountain road, and we can heard the sound of the locals having their morning practise of traditional Chinese song in the lovely pavilion on the small hill. The hill was not high at all, but you never know how deep it is except you really climb it some day. We didn't do this but to visit the Knowing Fish Palace. It's just a small garden connect with mountain, a beautiful lake full of big lotus is in the center. Arround it is narrow corridor and cute bridges. It was not that crowed, but many foreigners there, most of them are travel without guide, cause as I know, guide will rarely take the clients here. The corridor has a name-3 steps a turning, 5 steps a swerve. The discription is so nice that you can imagine how the imperial concubines play and having fun everyday in the small and cute garden. The bridge in the center is called Knowing Fish Bridge, the name was given followed a old story. The Confucius used to talk with a friend. One said I can feel how happy the fish is when they swimming. "You are not a fish how can you feel they are happy or not?" the other one answered. "But you are not me, how can you know I can not feel?" If I live in the old days, maybe I will say: "So lets jump and swim! So we are fish then."

Then we get out of the garden and found a mountain road in front of us, it's leading to Dehe Garden ( Garden of Virtue and Harmony ). There are many exhibition rooms inside and a special building which was the largest Peking Opera Platform in size in Ming and Qing is there too. When we got there, a performance was going on, many visitors sit in front watching. We busied with taking pictures and missed it.

We went to WC on the way to the Kunming Lake and I had a smoke in the small road for relaxing.

As I planed, we visit Knowing Spring Pavillion next. It's start to crowed there, but it's really a good place to take a picture of the Logevity Hill ( Wanshou Hill ). There alway are some local people prictise calligraphy there on the ground using a very very big brush in the early morning. We had a rest there and then visit the Wen Chang Yuan ( Wenchang Galley ).

It was so quiet there I can feel free to take picture without people. Many old vans outside on the colomn which is empty in the crowed gardens. The exhibits were amazing too. But it's a pity that no photo alowed to take inside, so I can only take back some photo with building and my girl friend.

Our next station is the living area for emperor and empress. We spend just a little time there cause it's so crowed. It is easy to get the history and story there, because so many group passed, every guide can tell a little. I tried my best to take some clean pictures. And I think the living area is best to visit in spring.

On the way of the 731 meters corridor which is the longest one in China now, there is a good pciture place. I asked my girl friend make many pose there. Along the corridor there is lots of exhibitions, shops and toilets. It's a good time to enjoy the leisure, talking and drinking.

On the half way of the corridor, is our next inportant place to vixit-the hill! My girl friend was not tired at that time at all. So we start to climb. There 3 part can be visit now, the center-axes, the east wing and the west wing. All of them are different and beautiful. We spent almost 2 hours there on the hill and we took so many pictures. It's not very crowed there, we talk with foreigners and locals, talking about their trip, talking about our trip. A American man took a picture for both of us. He told us he like his tour to Asian and will leave on Thursday.

Until the end of the corridor-Marbot Boat ( Shi Fang ). There are so many people taking picture with the boat which can not be touched. I think the archways behind it is better and more beautiful.

Our next destination is Suzhou Street. We walk in to the mountain again, and it became quiet again, we even can kiss without knowing by others. We were so happy that we already travelled for a whole day but not feel tired. After 20 minutes walk, we finally find the Suzhou Street. It is a street built follow the style of Suzhou, a city in south China. The building all built along the river, the road in front are so narrow that you need to be careful. All of the buildings along are for shopping and dinner. We walk along and had our dinner in a special lovely restaurant, it was not that expensive, and the dishes there were ok although not that good. Some of the buildings are under repare. The most important thing I found was that some one are fishing there, in the Summer Palace! They are so brave! There is a temple next to the street, but we already to tired to visit. I took my girl's hand cause she start to tired.

We walk to the half of the corridor again to take a dragon boat which is also in my plan. The boat is 8 RMB for ticket and leading to Nanhu Island ( South Lake Island ). On the boat, foreigners and locals mix together, the guides all talking about the Empress Cixi feed the fish and bird in olds in front the archway where we leaving. The boat was fast, we enjoy the wind and taking pictures in the middle of the lake to the mountains and buildings. Wind blow our hair, the pictures were so active.

The island is connected with the 17-arch Bridge. When we arrived it already 5 pm, so it was not that crowed, we take some good pictures. The bridge is huge, I like taking pictures with all the lions in line. The was a kiting man too, he was so good at it that he just stand there watching the kite without moving his hand. I don't know what were he thinking.

We took pictures with the largest pavillion-Kuo Ru Pavillion and the Bronze Ox, and then take a taxi home....

Mr. Danser

--Professional Tour Designer & Travel Advisor of China Tour Design

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