We found this hat farm on the Summer Palace grounds
Today, my two friends and I ventured to the outskirts of Beijing to take a look at the Summer Palace. First off, let me say that this place was huge. Just looking at the map you don’t understand the magnitude of places like this. We spent a good two hours at the Summer Palace and still probably only saw about a quarter of it (it got dark on us).
The Summer Palace is probably one of, if not the, most beautiful man-made places I’ve seen. While walking around the grounds I felt like I was living in an ancient town. All the old bridges and landscaping were very impressive. Perhaps one of my favorite parts was getting to see some of the ruins that were there. One difference I noticed between America and China is that in China I didn’t see one security guard or attendant to monitor what people were doing. I literally was able to walk all over, around and on these centuries old ruins. It really makes for a more profound experience. Unfortunately, my camera’s battery died before I got to the ruins (remember this place is hugh!). I’ll have to make another trip to the Summer Palace to see the rest of it and take some more pictures. The pictures I took describe the experience better than my words.
After the visit to the Palace my buddies and I went to an American style pizza parlor. American pizza in China – you’ll have to wait and see the pictures – words can’t describe it.
