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| View of Summer Palace from far |
A day when I visited the "Summer Palace", I ended up in "Fragrant Hills Park" first...
Fragrant Hills
Park
I pointed the words of "Summer Palace"
written in Chinese characters to the uncle taxi driver and asked him; ya? He responded;
ya.
Confidently he drove passing the sign of Summer Palace
in the highway and he dropped me off in Fragrant Hills Park (Xiangshan Park).
Whatever I'd say to him, I knew he wouldn't understand, so I better enjoyed
this hill.
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| Shop - on the way to Fragrant Hills Park |
The small ascending road leading to the hill is quite
cute. There are souvenir shops on both sides. I didn’t mind walking uphill in
the fresh summer weather with a bit of wind.
It was around 27 degree Celcius.
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| One of the shops around Fragrant Hills Park |
Within 15 minutes, I saw the sign "North Gate" in English and other words in Chinese characters. Could it be the north gate of Summer Palace? I asked the aunty at ticket office: Summer Palace? She responded; “no, Summer Palace bus 303”.
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| North Gate of Fragrant Hills Park |
Like any other traveller, getting lost might be part of the experience. I could join a tour or go with a tour guide, but somehow I preferred to wander around myself.
Fragrant Hills Park is quite interesting... Big and
nice garden, there is also a lake... Songlin restaurant looks like green and
cute place to drop by but I have to find Summer Palace…
I saw a sign for Biyun Temple and was tempted to stop but again…. I had to stick to my plan to visit the Summer Palace. So, I exited through the east gate and jumped into another taxi to hopefully go to the right destination.
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| Fragrant Hills Park |
Summer Palace
The second taxi driver of that day dropped me off at a
very quiet gate of Summer Palace. I wish I arrived at either east or north gate
but I didn’t think so… But at least I arrived at the imperial garden that was built
in 17th century where the royal family spent their summer.
I can see the top of the palace from very far away…
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| Jade Belt Bridge |
Then I met a young Chinese woman who also got lost in this
area. She asked me in Chinese and I responded in English, we were laughing and
finally walked together… She is originally from Beijing and has come to Summer
Palace for the second time, and still got lost -J
Finally we came near to the Hall of Benevolence and
Longevity. Lovely!
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| Suzhou Street |
I said goodbye to my walking friend, she had to wait
for her mother to arrive from other side of the palace, I wanted to continue my
trip to Suzhou Street. It an area inside the Summer Palace with many stores
mostly selling souvenirs and some are tea houses. The history said that this area
served as an entertainment place where Emperors and concubines could feel as if
they were strolling on a commercial street. So there I was…
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| A corner in Suzhou Street |
Here is the East Gate where I wish I would have arrived at the beginning…
Going back to the hotel was another challenge. I walked
from the East Gate to the subway station. Half way, I began questioning myself if
I was on the right track. I thought I waited until any foreign tourists passing
by so I could her/him in English. My wish came true. Two tourists confirmed
that I was heading the right direction where I saw Starbucks Coffee. Blessing
in disguise!
That is day to day life… On that particular day, I learn
a lesson to listen to my intuition. I should have followed my first intuition
to go to Summer Palace by subway, but I took the taxi. I got lost and perhaps
my path on that day changed…
Anyway, I continued walking my journey, walking and walking…
Sometimes I was in doubt if I was walking
on the right ways. I started questioning myself. Deep inside my heart I knew that
I was correct but still there was doubt. In doubt, I finally asked someone else
and was confirmed that it was a right direction. I was relieved…
Coming up next:
Still more stories on China... Shanghai, here I come!
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