Day 2 Summer Palace

After the absolute worst meal of our entire trip, we went to the Summer Palace of the Emperor. The beauty and nature made this a much more relaxing place although the crowds were quite large.

The Summer Palace is encompassed by a huge lake. We rode in this very Chinese boat. There was actually a dragon head on the front!

The buildings were painted beautifully.

This is our guide, Eric. He was good but was a little slanted on his view of the relationship between China and the US. He blamed the US for everything that is wrong with China. His answer to most of our question was always "80%".
Bob: So Eric, how many Chinese people go to college?
Eric: 80%
Julie:How much of this palace has been repainted?
Eric: 80%
Bob: Has any of the Great Wall been rebuilt?
Eric: 80%
It became a game for us to come up with more questions just to see how he would answer. Eric also preached and preached to us about Chinese Medicine and how wonderful it was. He even took us to a "Medical Center" to learn more about the Chinese beliefs and see all of the herbs, nuts and twigs used to cure people. We just nodded our heads and smiled. Then the next morning, Eric had a headache and took some aspirin!


It was a very hazy day in Beijing but you can see the lake and the building at the top of the hill. The emperor came here in the summer with his most trusted aids, his wife and his chosen concubines.