{"id":15199,"date":"2020-09-16T15:43:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T19:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=15199"},"modified":"2020-09-16T16:40:07","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T20:40:07","slug":"visiting-beijings-summer-palace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/visiting-beijings-summer-palace\/","title":{"rendered":"Visiting Beijing’s Summer Palace"},"content":{"rendered":"

No visit to Beijing would be complete without a trip to the Summer Palace<\/strong> (\u9890\u548c\u56ed \u2013 y\u00ed h\u00e9 yu\u00e1n), a massive complex full of pagodas, gardens, palaces, and even a lake. In my 5 years of living in the Chinese capital, this was always my favorite place to visit, especially on rare clear day in Beijing. Today I’d like to share a bit with you about visiting Beijing’s Summer Palace, starting with a little history.<\/p>\n

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The Summer Palace (\u9890\u548c\u56ed) on a beautiful July day.<\/p><\/div>\n

History of the Summer Palace<\/h2>\n

Back in 1750, this area was built up to serve as a place for the royal family to get some R&R in the hot summer months. In the beginning, during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor<\/strong>\u00a0(\u4e7e\u9686\u5e1d \u2013 qi\u00e1n l\u00f3ng d\u00ec) of the Qing Dynasy, it was called the\u00a0Garden of Clear Ripples<\/strong>\u00a0(\u6e05\u6f2a\u56ed \u2013 q\u012bng y\u012b yu\u00e1n). It was constructed in accordance with the Chinese philosophy of balancing the works of man with nature \u2013 hence the massive lake and the seemingly endless greenery. The emperor actually had an army of 100,000 workers widen and deepen\u00a0Kunming Lake<\/strong>\u00a0(\u6606\u660e\u6e56 \u2013 k\u016bn m\u00edng h\u00fa). In the bustling capital city, a little slice of peace, tranquility, and nature was created.<\/p>\n