Summer Palace in Spring
---------- By Robert Westbrook

On the first really perfect Sunday this April, Gail and I headed off to the Summer Palace, where the emperors of the Qing Dynasty used to play. I've always thought this the most beautiful spot in Beijing, and I wanted to see the park and lake in all its spring finery.
All the trees and shrubs were in their first bloom. The lake was blue and languid, full of little paddleboats, and the paths were crowded with strolling families and romantic couples.
Everywhere you looked, people were pointing cameras and taking pictures of one another. Many of the younger women posed delicately amongst the pink blossoms, looking very poetic and dreamy as their boyfriends snapped away. There were so many photographers that you had to stop every few feet and wait politely so as not to get in someone's frame. But after a while, if you wanted to cover any ground, you had to get ruthless and smile apologetically as you continued on in front of someone's lens. I can imagine the surprise in many a Chinese family when their film comes back from the developer and they find a rather large, hairy foreigner has been immortalized in their color print.

(Left: Gail in "The Long Corridor" at the Summer Palace)

Most of the palace buildings are on a steep hill to the north of the lake. There are temples and reception halls and residential areas that all have wonderful names: The Benevolence and Longevity Hall, the Precious Clouds Pavilion, the Sea of Wisdom Temple. It's difficult to look at all this imperial splendor without thinking of the astonishing inequality of wealth in ancient China. The Summer Palace, after all, is only a few kilometers from the Forbidden City and the various lakes and imperial gardens of what is now Behai Park. Not that it was always a picnic, of course, for the emperor and his family.Nearly all the buildings of the Summer Palace were burned down in 1860 by a joint Anglo-French army, and have been restored. in 1888, the Empress Dowager Cixi rather unwisely

used the money she had raised to create a modern navy, to rebuild the Summer Palace instead Nearly all the buildings of the Summer Palace were burned down in 1860 by a joint Anglo-French army, and have been restored. in 1888, the Empress Dowager Cixi rather unwisely used the money she had raised to create a modern navy, to rebuild the Summer Palace instead. Her lovely marble pleasure boat -- the Boat of Purity and Ease -- was as close as the country got to its navy. One senses in this anecdote something of the moribund state of the Qing Dynasty that made it such a sitting duck for the Western powers.

Gail and I walked up and down the steep hillside more than once, just to make sure we didn't miss anything. Most of the old buildings are locked. You can only peer inside through musty glass to see the faded interiors and try to imagine what it must have been like to live here a hundred years ago. But the buildings are very evocative with their ornately sculptured roofs, and there are wonderful views from the hillside down to the lake below and the surrounding hills.

Chinese history is endlessly fascinating, but probably the best part of a visit to the Summer Palace is simply strolling through the park. in the late afternoon, Gail and i returned to the lake and walked along the narrow promontory of land that juts out into the lake, a path that leads over high arching bridges and past a series of small pavilions where you can stop and sit. As we walked, the weather changed. The sky turned dark and the wind began to blow. it was dramatic, something that can't be often said about Beijing weather. The perfect ending to a Sunday in the park.