The Sum­mer Palace, in down­town Bei­jing, is an enclave of peace away from the crazi­ness of the city. Dom­i­nated by the Longevity Hill and set around the Kun­ming lake, an arti­fi­cial lake entirely man made, the place has a vari­ety of palaces and gardens.

The Sum­mer Palace was almost destroyed twice: once dur­ing the Anglo-French inva­sion in 1860, and once dur­ing the Boxer Rebel­lion in 1900. It was rebuild shortly after and served as a sum­mer resort for the late Qing dynasty’s witchy Empress, Cixi.

Today, the Sum­mer Palace is of course a tourist des­ti­na­tion, but is also a Beijinger’s favorite, where older peo­ple enjoy prac­tic­ing Tai Chi while exer­cise their cal­lig­ra­phy skills using a wet brush to draw char­ac­ters on the pave­ment, where tod­dlers take their first steps and kids fly their kites and where young cou­ple take their “lit­tle emper­ors” (the Chi­nese gen­er­a­tion of only child) for a walk.

Related posts:

1. Old Bei­jing (老北京)
2. Buck­ing­ham Palace
3. Sum­mer is Over
4. Meech Lake
5. Gar­dens of Versailles