Summer Palace, Beijing, China ~ Sept 09

Entrance to the sprawling Summer Palace near Beijing, China.

This Palace and gardens were built in the early Jin dynasty ~ through the centuries it, a portion of the grounds and buildings were destroyed during wars. The Summer Palace we see this day is said to be more or less the same as it was ~ parts were rebuilt in 1903.

The Palace, surrounding buildings and gardens are set on Lake Kumming.

The buildings are filled with ornate furnishings and fine artwork.

Lotus Flower

I couldn't help but think of my pond

and Koi

on the other side of

the world.

I enjoyed intermingling and people watching. .

They are eager to nod and smile. When I ask to take a photo,

they are so pleased

and took great pleasure

in seeing the photo on the camera.

Wish I could show all here.

None spoke English,

however, the

universal language

of

smiles,

and nods , showing photos to them on camera

bring us together

for a brief while ~ `

we share happiness and

maybe

a memory for them too.

Mother and daughter

in the gardens.

Wouldn't it have been fun to actually talk with them?

Peaceful surroundings for sure.

A good place to escape.

Ornate structures enhance scenery ~














The Marble Boat. ~

In ancient China,

people often built a boat as part of decoration in classical gardens.

Here at the Summer Palace

we see this one made of marble.

Actually

it is not really a boat, but is a boat-shaped architecture~

They were built in the middle of water or port near the bank.

In parks, boats can enrich the beautiful scenery.
This Marble Boat was built here in 1755. It does not float.







Doesn't take you long to figure out that these people LOVE to build

and decorate what they have built.

Seems for centuries, all have been artists or entertainers.

Beijing is wonderful.

I could easily stay a month here ~

however

the rest of China awaits~

Leaving ~ was so happy that I could bring home visual memories ~ packed in the camera.



Bet we walked two miles and still could have spent yet another day or two here...

so, so

peaceful and beautiful.

We regretfully depart.

The OPERA AWAITS!

Silk Carpet Factory ~ Beijing, China

Clean and spacious area within the Silk, handwoven Chinese Carpet Factory, we learned how the carpet is totally hand made...one thread at a time is selected from appropriate color from rolls of silk thread in spools overhead their work area. The thread is looped around the fiber backing, pulled down against the other, tied and then cut to exact length to make a perfectly smooth carpet... each thread and placement comes from the judgement of the worker.












Here, they are moving on with the design~


A closer look at the work...notice the carpet will be the depth of the top line of silk threads.

The carpet is so, so soft to the touch.

Here, we see how the "spools" of silk thread are hand wrapped.

Fascinating to sit and watch ~ The workers did not speak English nor did they acknowledge our presence.

`

Now we see hand woven silk thread paintings. Couldn't get enough as they are totally unbelievable. They have a large room filled with these...each beautiful.

My favorite carpet is this one. I love the colors. I thought about having it shipped...but then, I would have a hissy-fit if anyone actually walked on it...and no room to hang this treasure. AHHHHHH Beautiful! It stays in China until claimed by another.

We left there for lunch and toured THE SUMMER PALACE~ Photos from there next blog~

From The Summer Palace ~ we went to the Qin Yue Gong Theater for a Chinese Opera performance, followed by dinner. Photos in next blogs.

More Wild Great Wall Photos

I think about the Great Wall experience every day~






This is the wonderful group who shared this experience.


















Isn't this amazing?

This photo shows just how far we climbed!

Now you might understand why we were so proud of our accomplishment. The climb is 1000 steps to the top.

I did it with a brand new titanium hip which was, to the day, 6 months old.

Thanks Dr. Charles Engh!

This photo shows how the Wall hasn't been restored ~ left as it was found and added wooden steps and a rail to make it safe to climb to the mountain top where it goes on intact. Amazing!

This morning I added another dream to my Bucket List~ I can't explain how or why I am awed by the Great Wall. The extra step to make it our own expedition made it priceless for me.

This morning I woke and dropped a thought in my Bucket List. I would like to climb the same wall, taking a sleeping bag and spend a sunset and a sunrise there...in September. We learned that September is the best month to see China.

Cloisonne Factory

We enter the vine covered Factory where we are met with our Tour Guide who explains how the brass vase on the left become the finished product on the right.

We then entered the work area...amazing~

The design is formed on a brass base by placing little brass loops and rings into place. Every tiny piece is placed by hand and later painted within the medal pieces which create the intended design~

Can you imagine doing this every day? Day after day?

The next step is to layer on paint. The brushes are tiny~and the paint delicate. If they make mistakes, the paint can be washed off.

Then it goes to the polishing machine where it is smoothed using rocks and water...

Now is our chance to paint. The "best" was to win a prize. No one got a prize. It was very difficult to manage the paint. No doubt they washed our bowls.

THEN comes the gift shop~ . We definitely understood the high, high prices as every step is tediously hand made ~ and one piece take months to complete.

I wanted something to have from this wonderful place and finally settled on a beautiful hunter green covered dish with a black dragon. I so wanted the first vase, but already had the Red Lacquer Vase of the same size...but that vase at the top of the blog STOLE MY HEART!

Lunch in a Private Home near The Great Wall

We descend the Great Wall...if you look in the middle of the photo, you will see a pathway to the right, which we took up the first mountain that you can see to get to the Wall...

Our path is the one that circles the top and goes down out of sight of this angle...

It is a long, steep climb and descent of rock steps placed into the side of the mountain...all different sized....very natural with whatever bushes that grow there..not an easy path.

The name of WILD GREAT WALL is fitting.

At the bottom, we were thrilled with the sense of accomplishment as we continued down the long dirt path to where the bus was parked.

There, we loaded on, congratulating ourselves for everyone in our group of 14 making it to the VERY TOP!

We reached for the bottles water~ Water ...ahhhh what a wonderful, wonderful feeling!

We rode to a nearby village where we were invited into a private home for lunch. We were greeted by their hanging vegetable garden.

In China, they use all available land around their homes to grow food.


We are seated in the largest room of the 2 room house.

I can't believe I don't have more shots of the outside of the house...but now you see the indoor shots.

They have posters to decorate the walls here.

The kitchen was small, however, the owned of the home had created a wonderful lunch for us to enjoy.

We enjoyed a nice lunch and stories of her home. Most of all, we enjoying seeing her kitchen and small home. The bed was a roll-away rolled against the wall. They did have a TV and comfortable chairs in the room.



Back on the bus, we went back to Beijing and there we droves as close as we could for views of the "Bird's Nest" of the Beijing Olympic Games.

The building below is where all the water events were held. The building is made of unbreakable glass or some kind of material that won't allow anything at all to stick or stay on the sides. It is forever clean. (I want this for our house, don't you?)

Last but not least are 4 buildings which look like four computer towers...well

that's what the are...the buildings are giant computers that ran all the Olympic Event.

We so enjoyed seeing how the Olympic Games bettered this City and made me so happy that Beautiful Rio de Janerio, Brazil will have this too.