It was fun to see the Olympic Village and the “Bird’s Nest”
and “The Cube” that we’d seen on TV in 2008:
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| Here we are with our guide Vivie in front of the Bird's Nest |
Our final stop was the Summer Palace, an imperial palace of the Qing Dynasty. It’s a large area surrounded by water, with a Buddhist temple at its center (and on top of a large hill):
While the palace was lovely, what captured my attention and imagination was this woman, Empress Dowager Cixi (pronounced sort of like Si-she):
She doesn’t look friendly…and she wasn’t! She was the concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor
and had a son who would later become emperor (when Xianfeng died). Cixi took advantage of the emperor’s youth and
became the “power behind the curtain” – she actually sat behind a curtain and
told the emperor what to do. When her
son died, she single-handly, against all protocol, installed her nephew – and controlled
him as well. At one point, when Cixi
felt vulnerable that her nephew may attempt to assert control, she put him
under house arrest at the Summer Palace. I could
go on and on about what a crazy, manipulative megalomaniac she was – it’s the
sort of story that proves that reality can be stranger than fiction. Bottom line is that she ruled the Qing Dynasty
for nearly 50 years behind the curtain – so wild. I'm hoping to find a good biography on her.
We wrapped up the day taking a boat back to our van and heading
to the hotel for, you guessed it, swimming! What a fantastic trip - we all loved it. It was so fun to explore with friends and to have a wonderful guide (all nine of us adored her - if you need a guide in Beijing, we can hook you up!).
Lucky for us, we didn't have to say good-bye to the Staleys quite yet. After they did some traveling within China, then they came to stay almost a week with us in Hong Kong - unquestionably, it was one of the most fun weeks we've had here; such a pleasure!! What a great way to wrap up the school year!! Thanks, Staleys!
Lucky for us, we didn't have to say good-bye to the Staleys quite yet. After they did some traveling within China, then they came to stay almost a week with us in Hong Kong - unquestionably, it was one of the most fun weeks we've had here; such a pleasure!! What a great way to wrap up the school year!! Thanks, Staleys!
Molly! I just got caught up on all of your latest adventures! How exciting and your photos were beautiful as always. I loved your descriptions of things- made it seem like I was there too. You have a beautiful family! I know you will cherish this blog looking back- hope you are well!
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