Thursday of Golden Week, Cathy and I met Lanny at the Grand Continental Hotel in NW Beijing, near the Olympic Bird's Nest and took a taxi to Yuanming Yuan, the Old Summer Palace, not far from the New Summer Palace. Dave and I had visited Yuanming Yuan last October when we saw maybe 4 or 5 dozen people on the huge estate. This day the place was crowded and the crowds continued to grow as the morning progressed. The history here is very interesting. The two statues welcoming us at the front gate are holding replicas of ancient coins. The beautiful lotus is oneof thousands that fill the fountain where statues of the 12 animals representing the Chinese Zodiac. This is the Year of the Rat, and more specifically, the Water Rat, which I am; hence, the picture of the rat. The giant lily pads are called Victoria Amazonica; Cathy says the are found in Lake Victoria. Finally, the beautiful fish coming for bread crumbs thrown by a little boy.
The palace was used by the emperors from the 1700's onward until it was looted and destroyed by the British and the French in 1860. The ruins were further damaged in 1900. I recommend that you look at these websites to learn more about it--also Victor Hugo's response http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Summer_Palace#cite_note-11 http://www.kinabaloo.com/yuanmingyuan.htmlhttp://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1985_Nov/ai_4003606
These guys wanted their photo taken with the
white girl. I wanted mine taken with the lion.
798 Art Zone
In the afternoon Lanny and I went to 798 Art Zone where we ate at the same place we ate last year and enjoyed the art. The 2008 Beijing 798 Arts Festival had just opened a couple days earlier. I found the same cafe where we had such delicious pumpkins basil soup last year and ordered a bowl. The same waiter who was there last year waited on us. I said, "I have your picture." Lanny translated, and he said he remembered me. Here are a few pictures that I took. More at: http://en.ce.cn/National/culture/200810/01/t20081001_16966747.shtml and a video at http://en.artintern.net/index.php/video/main/html/3/49
That's Lanny posing. She had to do all the things like work in a factory and on a farm, etc.
I walked all the way home from 798...turned on Fang Yuan Xi Lu and walked to Jiang Tai Lu (there is a Jenny Lou's there). I wasn't sure how long a walk it would turn out to be because the taxi ride had taken quite a while during rush hour traffic, but actually wasn't bad. I bought a few groceries including Land O' Lakes sharp cheddar and my favorite block feta. Then stopped at the Lido and looked around. I found some good quality hamburger at the little deli there and a cool Thai restaurant where you take off your shoes and sit on cushions; the prices are good too. When I was leaving I ran into Alicia, her mom, and Bella, the baby who had her diaper changed on the Great Wall. They were on their way to some famous mountain near Hong Kong...Guilin...or something like that.
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