The Old Summer Palace

Well, I survived the crazy night of fireworks!

Today, I went to visit the Old Summer Palace with my friend Stephanie and her parents. The Old Summer Palace was a place where the Emperor and his homeslices could hang out during the hot Summer months and enjoy the beautiful houses, gardens, and an entire building just meant for birds. However, in 1860 during the Second Opium War, the British and French armies destroyed the place, but they left a lot of the bronze structures, because they weren't so into those! Now, a lot of the ruins look like pictures or video I have seen in Ancient Greece and Rome. One of my favorite spots was a big bust of the writer Victor Hugo. He openly complained about the armies being robbers. He's kind of a rock star around here!

Stephanie's parents only walked through the ruins with us, and then walked home. Stephanie's dad, Mr. Yuan was a police officer stationed at the park before he retired, so we all got in free. Her parents were so warm to me, even though I could really only say "Hello, how are you?" It was a pleasure to meet them.

Stephanie and I had fun touring the ruins. One section of the ruins is a maze! The emperor used to sit out late on hot summer nights in the pergola and watch all the government officials rush through the maze. He would bestow money on the first one that reached him. I liked that story. Now, tourists can try walking the maze (it wasn't too hard to figure out and I'm horrific at directions) and take pictures at the pergola.

Then, we wandered around the temple fair. This temple fair was so much more relaxed compared to the one I went to on Friday. It was the last day of the fair, so people were pretty relaxed, and all the sellers were just trying to get rid of their goods. I got a few little treasures and had some delicious snacks.

I really appreciated Stephanie and her family showing me this beautiful park. I can't wait to go back in the Spring!

Well, that's it for my Spring Festival vacation. It was wonderful to have seven days off in a row and to explore Beijing a little bit with my friends here, and also have some time to relax. I feel refreshed. Back to Roddy and his friends tomorrow...

Captain's Log: 9 Months as of yesterday! I've spent a whole school year in Beijing now!