After visiting Ben's class on Wednesday morning we thought we could squeeze in a visit to the Summer Palace before dinner with my student's grandparents. I had a couple memories from our trip in 1984, including the famous Long Corridor. What I did not remember was that the Summer Palace is an enormous park. There was no way we were going to see everything we wanted to in just 90 minutes.

It was quickly clear that the tiny map in the guide book would prove insufficient, so we bought at map at the entrance. It is the dumbest map for navigating a park that we have ever seen. It is like a wannabe pirate treasure map that folds out into a huge page that might as well have said, "Look at me. I'm a tourist."

During our brief visit we did manage to walk along most of the long corridor and see a few of the sites. But the more time we were there, the more we realized that we needed to come back. . . especially on a more beautiful day. Fortunately, Saturday afternoon provided that opportunity for us. We had about four hours this time, but it still was not nearly enough to appreciate everything there.

We spent our time on Saturday in the area that has the most stuff, so we did not get a chance to cross the seventeen-arch bridge or re-take some of our pictures, but we did get the chance to get lost, climb hills, wander rocky paths, explore random pavilions, shop along a Venice-like street, and climb to the top of the Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha for some of the most amazing views we have ever seen.

These pictures are just a sample of what we took during both of our visits. Hover your mouse over each one to see a brief description or comment (as with all of the pictures in the web site). Dan and I both believe we will visit the Summer Palace again.

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