Summer Palace

From the jade store we went to the Summer Palace.

 

 

By this time, it was 37C outside, so we moved slowly.  We saw the Dragon Lady's palace, as well as the palace where she kept her nephew imprisoned. 

 

Once a month, the Dragon Lady would be taken up to a pagoda to pray to Buddha in a palanquin. 

 

 

 

The pagoda is up on a hill, eight palanquin carriers would have to take her up the stairs and then back down again, and if any of them dropped her, they would be executed.  Makes one really glad for 1) elevators and 2) no more Dragon Ladies.

 

We also went down the longest covered walkway in the world.

 

We took a dragon boat across the lake to where our driver waited for us.

 

 

 

We also along the way saw the "Marble Boat" that the Dragon Lady had restored using funds "reallocated" from the Imperial Navy.

 

Eventually we made our way to the exit.

 

Once again, a local decided to surreptitiously take a picture of us.  Caught in the act:

 

We left the Summer Palace after the boat ride and went back to the hotel.  While we driving back to the hotel, a decent summer thunderstorm hit.  The storm really wrecked traffic, but it washed all of the "haze" out of the sky--the view from our hotel room after that storm had passed was beautiful!  Once we got back to the hotel, we went straight to bed--the Great Wall really wore us out.