China: Long Journey II - Icy Summer Palace

Not even families of emperors didn’t spend every day of the year in Beijing, when day longed for a rest during hot summer days they usually moved to the Summer Palace (颐和园I-che-jüan in Chinese, it could be translated as the „Garden of cultivated harmony “). First forms of this classical park were created in the 12th century and until present it has remained the largest park in Beijing. In the time when we decided to visit it, Spring Holidays were just under way and minus 20 degrees Celsius outside were giving a message that summer is still very far.

As people traveled to their home towns and villages to celebrate the Chinese New Year with their families, there were gradually less and less people in the city. Winter brought people to their heated homes but still the Summer Palace, about 15 kilometers from Beijing’s center, wasn’t left empty. Perhaps a clear blue sky, perhaps interesting atmosphere of upcoming holidays were reasons what brought people of Beijing to visit the palace. The whole complex covers the area of 290 ha however, majority of visitor were focused around one place - Kchun-ming Lake. A glimpse at Chinese, showing off their figure skating mastery on artificially enlarged lake was definitely worth of it. It didn’t matter there was a sign board with “entrance on the lake is forbidden”.

The Summer Palace calmly watched all of this hustle from Long-life Mountain. After all, it watches the mankind few hundred years as well as the Marble Boat construction of which ordered Empress Cch'-si instead of construction of actual Chinese fleet. She used money devoted for building of Chinese navy to renovate the whole palace complex in 1888. Later she enjoyed to drink there tea with ladies of her court and watched sun set behind the hills and on the surface of the lake.

Since the rule of the controversial Empress many things changed there. Today tea isn’t served on the boat, entrance there is even forbidden. Since 1924, general public can visit the Summer Palace and it was added to UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1998. Perhaps the best view over the complex is from the Temple of Buddhist Virtue 41 meters high. No matter if you observe the Summer Palace gardens from above, from a boardwalk along Kchun-ming Lake or you dare to step on a frozen surface of the lake in winter, you will experience inexperienced. There is quiet and peace everywhere only sometimes you hear children whoops while ice-skating. The sun is about to go sleep, it enlightens the whole lake and one wonders if sunsets Cch’-si used to see then were as enchanting as they are today.

Text/photo: Hana Bašová