Located northwest of the center of town, the Summer Palace was a retreat for royalty trying to get away from Beijing’s stifling summer heat. It began as imperial gardens, and was developed and expanded by Emporer Qianlong in the 18th century. Later, it was damaged in several wars, rebuilt, renovated and made into the huge tourist attraction it is today. The major sights on the grounds absolutely swarmed with large tour groups from all over China with smaller numbers from other places. It was possible, however, to sneak off onto some of the less-used paths and escape the mob. In some of these more out of the way spots, locals gathered to visit, play cards, practice writing characters, exercise or relax.

From atop Longevity Hill we caught glimpses of Kunming Lake, which takes up most of the Summer Palace grounds. There are a number of temples up here, with telling names like Cloud Dispelling Hall and Temple of the Sea and Wisdom. From the lake shore there are ferries to the other side and sightseeing boats. The Qing boathouses are immense, indicating the kinds of vessels once housed there for royalty. Nearby is a massive, ornately carved marble ship, commissioned by Empress Dowager Cixi in the late 1800s. A 17 arch bridge crosses the lake’s eastern shore. Walking the Long Corridor, which runs parallel to the lake’s north shore, we admired the amazing carvings and paintings on the ceilings. Some of the nautical themes were especially interesting. We spent most of the day simply wandering and people watching (and being watched).

Another day was spent exploring what we decided was one of our favorite places, the Lama Temple, very different from other tourist spots, both in what there was to see and in people’s approach in visiting. On the way in, visitors loaded up with armfuls of long sticks of incense. Each stick was a think cylinder, mostly in yellow or fuchsia. Lama Temple is a Tibetan Buddhist temple, one of the best known outside Tibet. There were prayer wheels outside a number of the buildings to spin, as well as places to toss coins and golden chiming bells occasionally sounding in the background. The colors used in the inside decor here seem different too, with more gold and saffron. In front of each hall people lit incense and got down on their knees, head to the ground, in the traditional prostration of respect.

The air was filled with fragrant smoke, sweeter and more floral it seemed than at temples elsewhere. A big group of Tibetan ladies, dressed in traditional skirts, blouses and hats, with their hair fixed and tied in a way that reminded us of mountain ladies in Peru, entered just after we did. They glided from one hall to the next bowing, praying and respectfully touching their head to every altar and relic in sight.

Architecture of different eras and cultures is combined in the different buildings, but everything is very symmetrical. There are five main halls with several satellite halls on either side, each in a separate courtyard. They are: the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the Hall of Harmony and Peace, the Hall of Everlasting Blessings, the Hall of the Dharma Wheel and the Pavilion of Infinite Happiness. Each hall had different statues and altars inside: some gentle and benevolent, others downright scary. One memorable one had several of the blue-skinned guardians in impressive poses baring their teeth and looking intimidating. With a hall all to himself, an enormous statue of Maitreya Buddha in his Tibetan form, carved from sandalwood stands in Wanfu Pavilion. Toward the back of the complex are two exhibitions filled with tantric statues, tapestries and other works of art.

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