Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace

This is another amazing historic site in the Heart of Beijing. Built during the 1400’s during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, The Emperor would come here to pray for Peace and Harvest.

The Summer Palace

Our stop is now the Summer Palace. It is a beautiful place surrounded by Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill. A great site to see in January. Lots of people ice fishing and children riding around on the lake on sleds powered by around by animated dogs. What a site. We could see the Summer Palace across from the lake.

A lot of interesting artifacts here. This Bronze Ox dates back to the 1700’s with inscriptions on its back written by Emperor Quinlong . It is a lucky symbol to guard the floods .

We take the footbridge over to the small island where the Imperial Qing Dynasty Hanley government affairs and spent their summers.

We get back to our Hotel by 4:00 PM . Definitely in need of a rest. It was an amazing tour and a wonderful way to see so much of the area as we could in only two days . It was fun meeting the few people who we toured with . A nice couple from Mexico who were on their honeymoon and three others from Russia. I highly recommend the company we used, Tour-Beijing.com. Small group and only $60.00 for two days, including lunch. Fantastic!