DRMW[Purist]
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Additional photo: the 'Seventeen Arch Bridge'
Apr 07, 2012,13:11 PM
We went on a tour group so we only had about 2-3 hours for the Summer Palace. Usually if you do a tour, they will take you here first then go to the Forbidden City as it is close by.
As you can see from the pics, the Long Corridor has almost 10,000 paintings so you can spend a lot of time just in that spot looking at each one. PuristS 'Stefan' posted about the optical illusion on one of the paintings which was cool: ( timeout.watchprosite.com
) The 2 hours at the Summer Palace did not allow time to walk across the 17 Arch Bridge but we did see it:
The 17 Arch Bridge links to Peng Lai Island where the Nan Hu 'Dragon King Temple'. On the other side of the Summer Palace is the Marble Boat. As the name implies, it is a huge boat made entirely of marble stone, very cool to see!
Are you into photography or take a lot of pics and video when you travel? If you do, it's tough being in a tour group as they move fast not leaving much time to take a good photo. The guides were kinda frustrated with me as I really didn't stay with the group wandering off to check things out that I found interesting, like the Chinese Calligraphy guy. In certain areas, it's not a good idea to wander off like I do as you can run into all kinds of problems.
Honestly I'm surprised the pics that I shared on the forums came out ok as lots of them are taken on the go and it was tough waiting for people to get out of the way. Some have noticed that it didn't look crowded from my pics at The Great Wall or Summer Palace, but actually there was. I just had to patiently wait for the opportunity to take a shot when no one was around which was tough to do. If you aren't into photography then you should have plenty of time to see a lot with a tour group. I did miss some of the guides pointing out significant historical facts about the area due to focusing on picture taking but I had already researched the spots I was going to prior to the trip so I kinda knew the history.
-MW
This message has been edited by DRMW on 2012-04-07 13:47:32
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'The Summer Palace' PART1
By: DRMW : April 6th, 2012-00:06
'The Summer Palace' Located approximately 10 miles from Beijing is the Summer Palace. As the name implies, it was used by the Chinese Imperials as a vacation getaway from the main Imperial Palace (aka the Forbidden City). During the early 1100's of the Ji...
'The Summer Palace' PART2
By: DRMW : April 6th, 2012-00:07
Entrance of the East Palace gate: A Kai Lin (a creature with a dragon head, lion tail, deer horn, and cattle hoofs is featured in the middle of the area. In Chinese legend, the Kai Lin guards against destruction by fire. It is one of the relics of Yuan Mi...
Fantastic!
By: SALMANPK : April 6th, 2012-04:16
I love your pics and you know I love visiting historic heritage landmarks can't wait for the next report on the Forbidden City S
re: Fantastic!
By: DRMW : April 6th, 2012-13:18
Glad you are enjoying these series of posts from Beijing, lots more on the way. Have you been doing any traveling? Any more 'adventures' like we had in Dubai? -MW
Good to hear...
By: SALMANPK : April 7th, 2012-07:24
there is more on the way, I know putting together these posts can be quite time consuming, so a big thank you, haven't had the chance to travel this year and to be honest I've become an old fart, hate the same typical clinical pseudo futuristic bs airport...
LOL! [nt]
By: DRMW : April 7th, 2012-11:54
No message body
=D
By: DRMW : April 6th, 2012-13:16
Hello Jman, How's the new baby? Hope all is well with the family! -MW
re: here
By: DRMW : April 7th, 2012-00:45
Can you kindly repost? pic didn't come out. -MW
Here
By: JMan : April 8th, 2012-09:48
Here is another try Ming!...
:)
By: DRMW : April 8th, 2012-20:53
Adorable! Great shirt too! -MW
Additional photo: the 'Seventeen Arch Bridge'
By: DRMW : April 7th, 2012-13:11
We went on a tour group so we only had about 2-3 hours for the Summer Palace. Usually if you do a tour, they will take you here first then go to the Forbidden City as it is close by. As you can see from the pics, the Long Corridor has almost 10,000 painti...
yeah I'll definitely have time
By: xsw : April 7th, 2012-13:39
I'm always on free and easy so time isn't a problem. it's much relaxing that way. I'll just go wherever the wind blows and linger as long as I like. I might even have too much time on my hands in Beijing in fact. man summer palace is gona be great! here w...
Why don't you...
By: cen@jkt : April 8th, 2012-07:27
travel by yourself? I only travel with groups if I bring my customers, otherwise lonely planet guide book and internet search are good to go. I usually max out 2 attractions per day, and will also arrange lunch and dinner. The only place you want a tour g...
good and bad...
By: DRMW : April 8th, 2012-12:19
There are advantages and disadvantages of traveling with a tour. We got lazy and went with a tour as it hits the main spots. Also it was last minute decision to go to Beijing as a big concern was the weather, fortunately all went well. If I go back, I wou...
Wrong question again
By: cen@jkt : April 8th, 2012-17:21
. I have been travelling since January! Let's see where I've been and where I'll be: January: Japan and New Zealand (the south island) February: Sumba (finished up my water project) and Japan March: Lombok and East Java (Madura and Bromo) April: Guangzhou...
woah, that's a lot of traveling!
By: DRMW : April 8th, 2012-20:29
Japan is a fun city with so much to see, do, and eat. I heard New Zealand is beautiful so make sure you take a lot of pics and share with us on the forums! If I go to Indonesia, I will definitely let you know. -MW
awesome...
By: ocwatching : April 7th, 2012-15:31
again..completely different feel in the winter time at the Summer Palace. I actually think one appreciates the enormity of this place more in the cold winter... Thanks Ming!
Another fantastic post
By: njoy : April 6th, 2012-07:12
Im thinking of cutting short my annual summer vacation to Spore to visit Beijing
re: Fantastic
By: DRMW : April 6th, 2012-13:16
Appreciate you looking, Beijing is definitely worth the visit. How many days of vacation do you get? For Beijing you need at least 5 days to see the major destinations. -MW
Beijing...Spore
By: njoy : April 9th, 2012-07:18
I usually go once a year to see my in-laws, I go for 2 weeks, perhaps I can split the trip for this year, not sure the wife will agree...ha ha
Summer Palace is the place you can't miss when visiting to Beijing...
By: FanFrancisco : April 6th, 2012-10:16
Ming, did you see the following interesting pic where is also located inside the Summer Palace. the pic was drawn on one circle wood, you can see the direction of top of the "ting" being changed depended which side of the location you viewing it. the tour...
Yes!
By: DRMW : April 6th, 2012-13:13
Since there are so many paintings only certain ones were highlighted including this one. I have video of our guide explaining it but the footage came out too shaky. -MW
I spent the whole walk...
By: BDLJ : April 8th, 2012-22:44
...down the Long Corridor looking for Monkey and Tripitaka! They're there somewhere! Lovely place, but when you see that marble steamship...it reminds you of why that dynasty fell....
re: walk
By: DRMW : April 9th, 2012-00:03
We didn't get much time looking at the Marble Boat and it was hard to take pics as there were a lot of people there. So which landmark did you enjoy the most in Beijing? -MW
So many too choose from...
By: BDLJ : April 9th, 2012-03:20
...the Bell Tower, Mao's mausoleum, Forbidden city... I've dug up some of the photos of Beijing from the mid-90s when I visited my mother there. I'll scan them soon. Very few cars and very cold! I was bouncing back and forth from Singapore to Beijing...dr...
Wow... that's amazing
By: elanoftroy : April 10th, 2012-09:56
I'm going to send this to my friend who specializes in art... I'm sure she will find it very interesting and may be able to give me an explanation why it appears that way. Wow, wow, wow, Helen
My friends parents had something similar
By: elanoftroy : April 12th, 2012-16:01
They were paintings of beautiful women with powdered wigs... their eyes followed you where ere in the room you went. As a kid it was spooky. Helen
Another great travelogue
By: ED209 : April 6th, 2012-23:42
Great pics, thanks for taking us along to this part of China. I like the video of the guy doing the Chinese calligraphy. Regards, ED-209
Tower of Fragrance
By: elanoftroy : April 10th, 2012-09:46
Is it still used? Can you smell the incense burning on the outside? Do you smell it as you ascend up to the Tower? I love the coloring of the Hall of Jade Ripples, such coloring isn't used in buildings here in the West; they have a refreshing and calming ...
the colors..
By: DRMW : April 10th, 2012-11:48
The bold colors you see are not the original colors. Just like the Great Wall, the original structures have been damaged over the years due to wars and natural wear and tear. Chinese calligraphy is an art form, but reading it is just like reading any othe...