Our afternoon visit on our third day in Beijing was to the Summer Palace. The origins of the summer palace go way back in time but most of what can be seen today goes back to the year 1750. Our guide said that the emperors would come here to get away from the hot and humid Beijing summers. If I had been an emperor, I would have lived at the summer palace all year long.

The Summer Palace grounds are over 700 acres. Seventy-five percent of that is Kunming Lake which is entirely man-made. The dirt from digging and building the lake is what made Longevity Hill which is a 200 foot tall hill and the location of the palace. The Summer Palace is a collection of palaces, temples, buildings, gardens, walks, pavilions, halls, bridges, towers, corridors, and the lake. And did I mention that the lake is teeming with fish?

There is an island in the middle of the lake and it has a famous seventeen arch bridge to get out to it. We did not take the bridge to the island but you can see it in the distance on the left side of the island.

The marble boat below is not really a boat, it was just built in the design of a boat. It is actually a pier out into the lake. We were told it was used for lunches and other events for the emperor. It looked like a nice place to eat lunch.

The summer palace was originally off limits to all but the emperor, just like the Forbidden City. Now it is open to all and a major tourist attraction. While not as impressive as the marble boat, the tourist boats for trips out on the lake are still quite impressive.