10/12 A day at the Summer Palace

October 12

Today we were ready to go at 8:30 am. The Florida game started at 7:30 am and I checked the score as we were leaving. We were up 14-7.

The smog has finally cleared and you can actually see across Beijing. We could see the amusement park that had a ball like Epcot (but a little bit smaller) and the mountains/hills in the distance. It was nice to be able to breathe without a mask.

We first had a fast breakfast. Today, we tried soy milk with doughnuts (youtiao) and also got boiled eggs (it was so nice to have something that I am used to for breakfast). We also tried Chinese orange juice which tasted like Sunny Delight.

We drove to the Summer Palace which was located on the top of one of the hills. The entrance fee was 30 RMB (~$5). However, there were extra cost as we went inside depending on what you wanted to visit.

Ticket to Summer Palace

There was a big group that went here today - my parents, Leon and his mom, Mr. Shi and his wife, his wife's mom (who we now call grandma), Leon's mom's elementary school friend and her husband and daughter. The daughter had lived in the UK for a bit and we were able to talk - she works for the Cyprus Embassy in Beijing. The school friend family treated us to one of the sections - the Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha. We were able to check the Florida score here on Mr. Shi'a phone - sad day!!!

Let's just say the ADA would not have been pleased with this location. There were steep steps, no handrails, and did I mention the really high, steep steps. However, the climb was worth it and not only was the structure incredible but the view of the city of Beijing was clear and eye opening as to what the city was like. This was a temple for Buddha that the emperors would pay homage to when they were at the Summer Palace. We explored other locations on our walk down including a Bronzed Pavilion.

After getting down to the bottom, we decided to have lunch. We packed lunch today from stuff we bought at the grocery store. There were lots of breads and snacks. I started to try a duck wing but it was so spicy that I had to give to Leon.

After lunch, we walked along the long corridor to the Marble Boat and then caught a boat to the South Lake Island. The boat gave us a beautiful view of the city. We walked over the 17 Arch Bridge and headed towards the emperor's residence. We stopped by the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity.

After exploring the residences, we headed out.  We walked to the subway and saw a Starbucks, Pizza Hut, DQ, and McDonald's. It was like we were back in the USA!

This time we took the subway back (on our way to the Palace, we drove in the car but Mr. Shi's son took the car back home). The subway stop was only one stop past where Tsinghua was located so it took us about 1.5 hours to get back.

We went straight to dinner. Mr. Shi and his family including wife, son, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, niece, and his son's girlfriend were in attendance. I'll tell you more about dinner in the next post. Now is time to walk the Great Wall.