The Summer Palace is on the northwest edge of Beijing; a century ago during the Qing Dynasty it would have been beyond the edge of the city.
A bronze statue of a mythical beast.
View across Kunming Lake; parties were held in the buildings on the hillside.
Slightly different view across Kunming Lake.
The famous marble boat. Note the small paddlewheel on the side; it was apparently a marble steamboat. It is said that the Empress Dowager Cixi diverted what were supposed to be naval construction funds to build this, a few years before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95.
Copyright © 2002, Edwin E. Moïse. Revised August 15, 2002.