Empress Cixi created this summer retreat in the 1880's after the old Summer Palace was destroyed. She enjoyed her creation so much that she spent a bulk of her time here, effectively abandoning the Forbidden City and running China almost exclusively from here. In fact, the Summer Palace had the first telephone in all of China, used to speak with her military commander.
The resulting mosaic of imperial pleasure gardens and grand buildings, harmoniously arranged on hills surrounded by a lake was partially destroyed in 1900, but quickly rebuilt. (it seems that everything in Beijing was destroyed in the early 1900s and later restored)
As in every Chinese garden I have seen, rocks, water, blossoming shrubs and flowers feature prominently. A walk through the Summer Palace is like walking through a Chinese scroll painting, with ever changing environments and colors.
Empress Cixi is thought to have squandered a fortune on this "Marble Boat" with two stone wheels on either side. Many felt she rather should have spent the money on improving the Chinese navy, who had a humiliating defeat to the Japanese navy as she sat on a marble boat that doesn't move.
Cixi was passionate about Beijing Opera and had an impressive open-air stage built on the grounds of the Summer Palace. Its three stages, one above the other were connected by trap doors, so that supernatural beings, saints, and immortals could swoop down and evil spirits could rise from the underworld.
Today, it is an theater museum where you can watch traditional dance, opera, and music of the Beijing Opera. Ralph and I watched the dancers perform before we toured Cixi's private possessions from jewlery to her Mercedes Benz, the first car imported into China.
After spending three hours walking around and touring the Summer Palace grounds, I can see why Cixi never wanted to leave. I didn't want to leave either.
Empress Cixi created this summer retreat in the 1880's after the old Summer Palace was destroyed. She enjoyed her creation so much that she spent a bulk of her time here, effectively abandoning the Forbidden City and running China almost exclusively from here. In fact, the Summer Palace had the first telephone in all of China, used to speak with her military commander. 
The resulting mosaic of imperial pleasure gardens and grand buildings, harmoniously arranged on hills surrounded by a lake was partially destroyed in 1900, but quickly rebuilt. (it seems that everything in Beijing was destroyed in the early 1900s and later restored)
As in every Chinese garden I have seen, rocks, water, blossoming shrubs and flowers feature prominently. A walk through the Summer Palace is like walking through a Chinese scroll painting, with ever changing environments and colors.
Empress Cixi is thought to have squandered a fortune on this "Marble Boat" with two stone wheels on either side. Many felt she rather should have spent the money on improving the Chinese navy, who had a humiliating defeat to the Japanese navy as she sat on a marble boat that doesn't move. 
Cixi was passionate about Beijing Opera and had an impressive open-air stage built on the grounds of the Summer Palace. Its three stages, one above the other were connected by trap doors, so that supernatural beings, saints, and immortals could swoop down and evil spirits could rise from the underworld. 
Today, it is an theater museum where you can watch traditional dance, opera, and music of the Beijing Opera. Ralph and I watched the dancers perform before we toured Cixi's private possessions from jewlery to her Mercedes Benz, the first car imported into China.
After spending three hours walking around and touring the Summer Palace grounds, I can see why Cixi never wanted to leave. I didn't want to leave either.
