Summer Palace & Tiananmen Square

Wednesday was an overcast day. The temperature was 27 C (82 F for my American friends) and very humid.

Jeremy and I visited the Summer Palace in the morning. It is large and ornate but what really makes it impressive, is the size of the large man-made lake behind it, the park, the bridges and the buildings that encompass it. My pictures really didn't do it justice but I have attached photos of the entrance, the view across the lake to the Budhist temple behind the palace and a closer view of the waterlillies close to the temple. The palace encompasses an area of 2.9 square km and 2.2 square km of it is occupied by the man-made lake.

At noon, I hate to admit that we ate Scottish food ( McDonalds). Then we took the subway from the Summer Palace to Tiananmen Square. It is also quite large and we didn't go in but I have attached a picture of the entrance. We also did not have time to go to the forbidden city which is in the confines of the square.

We continued on the 'packed' subway and after being pushed one last time into a full train, we popped out near the apartment.

We met Mingsi and her mother, who had successfully driven from Shenyang to Beijing and we ate supper at the original Beijing (Peking) ' Roast Duck ' restaurant. The food was fabulous and I had the opportunity to test my skill with chopsticks again. I have included pictures of the chef carving the duck in front of our table and a picture of all of the food. I would liked to have tried my hand at carving the duck, but I could tell that he was far more experienced at it and I would probably have butchered it. They even gave me the birth certificates for the 2 ducks.

Tomorrow will bring new adventures as we head south.