Our first full day in Beijing started at the Forbidden City, and nothing really prepares you for the scale of it. For nearly 500 years, this was the imperial palace of China, home to 24 emperors across the Ming and Qing dynasties, completely off-limits to ordinary people. The place is massive in a way that’s hard to describe until you’re standing in the middle of it. You move through it in a kind of progression, one courtyard opening into the next, each hall serving a different ceremonial purpose. The yellow glazed roof tiles and red walls carry through the entire complex, and no matter how far in you get, the scale doesn’t shrink.
After lunch we headed to the Summer Palace, which had a completely different feel. The complex was originally built in the 18th century during the Qing dynasty as a royal retreat from the heat of the city, and about three quarters of the total area is Kunming Lake. It was destroyed twice by foreign forces, first by Anglo-French troops in 1860 and again in 1900, and the version standing today is largely the restoration commissioned by Empress Dowager Cixi. The restoration itself came with some controversy. Empress Dowager Cixi reportedly redirected naval funds to pay for it, which is the kind of detail that reframes everything you’re looking at. There’s a lot of history packed into what reads, at first glance, as just a really beautiful park.
The highlight of the visit was convincing our professor to get on the boat across the lake. The boat ride gave us a completely different view of the grounds and made the whole visit feel more like the retreat it was originally designed to be.
While we were waiting for our taxi, Elizabeth bought a hat off some random guy on the street, bargained down from 30 yuan to 20. It has six different configurations apparently, and she was very pleased with herself.
After a lot of walking, Elizabeth, Sophie, Gabby, Josh, Zach and I kept dinner simple and ate at the restaurant right next to our hotel. Beijing has a lot more on the schedule!
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