On my first visit to the Summer Palace four years ago, I declared that I wanted one. After recently visiting twice in the past month, I have to say that sentiment hasn’t changed. It is a magnificent complex of Chinese buildings. Yes, many are replicas or major restorations, but they are beautiful with such a rich heritage to them.
Both of my visits recently were with Newman Tours. You may remember them from my Beijing ghost tour. After that tour, I got in contact with our guide who happened to be the owner and shared my interest in leading tours. I love giving tours and think I’m pretty good at it, at least that’s what people told me in Arizona. So, he invited me as a start to train as a guide for tours of the Summer Palace. That was my first recent visit, and it happened to be on one of the most beautiful days I’ve seen in Beijing.
The skies were blue and clear and the buildings on the hills stood out in their bright pageant of colors. The mountains were visible in the distance as were the smaller hills in between with mystical pagodas on their crowns.
We meandered around the palace discussing the history and fun anecdotes about the place and its former residents. For instance, the whole project of building the Summer Palace was a ruse by the emperor of the time. He said it was a water project to get more water down to Beijing for the growing population. When in all actuality it was a personal gift to his mother for her 60th birthday and a means to get water to his ever-expanding collection of imperial gardens around the city.
The tour was quite fascinating and much more illuminating than my previous tour of the imperial vacation home. I felt pretty confident that I could soon give of tour of this magnificent place. Just a week later, I was invited back to help co-lead a private tour. It was lots of fun.
In addition to what we saw the week before, our guests wanted to see the pagoda up the hill. Since the palace is so expansive, this is generally an added activity as it is a lot of steps and an additional fee. But we did go up and up and up the steep stairs all the way to that round squat tower housing Guanyin, the Chinese Buddhist goddess of mercy. It is a lovely building, but the views from the top of the hill are what make the hike worth it. I only wish it had been as clear as it was the week before.
From there, we went up and over the back of the hill in a hurry through the Tibetan temples that adorn the northern side. They are beautiful, and someday I’ll have to go back for a more in-depth look at them.
I’m hoping to visit this World Heritage Site again soon, and hopefully as a tour guide. If you’re planning a trip to Beijing, be sure to check out Newman Tours and maybe I’ll be your guide (you could request me too). Until then, remember, adventure is out there, so go have one!
