Beijing to Xi'an

We had one last morning in Beijing and it was busy.  First, we visited the Beijing Olympic Park to see the Bird's Nest and Water Cube used in the 2008 Olympics.  Both buildings are very unique and I am glad I got to see them.

Charlotte and Tommy with one of the Beijing mascots

Bird's Nest

Water Cube

Nearby hotel with IBM offices at the top.  Apparently this is the only 7 star hotel in China.  President George W. Bush stayed there when he came for the Olympics.  The hotel is shaped like a dragon.

After the Olympic Park, we went to the Summer Palace.  The Summer Palace was a summer retreat for the Emperor.  It now also has a large recreational park adjacent to it.  Many locals, especially retired persons, visit the park to spend time with friends.  We saw people dancing, singing and playing instruments, playing cards, knitting, practicing calligraphy and doing tai chi.

Practicing calligraphy with big paint brushes and water on the ground

Once inside the palace grounds, we saw many beautiful buildings.  We were fascinated by the story of the Empress Dowager Cixi.  She was one of the favorite concubines of the Emperor, and she gave him a son.  Her son, age 5, became Emperor when his father died.  Sometimes when a young child would become Emperor, the Empress would become Empress Dowager and rule until he came of age (and often would keep their control until much later).  The Empress Ci'an, the "official wife" of the Emperor allowed Cixi to be the co-Empress Dowager with her, an unusual move.  You could see the female influence in various places.  The phoenix is the symbol of the Empress, the dragon the symbol of the Emperor.  One of the buildings has phoenix and dragon statues in front of it.  Empress Dowager Cixi placed the phoenix closer to the entrance, signifying it was more important.  Empress Dowager Cixi ruled from behind the scenes for 47 years (Ci'an died after a few years), during her son's reign as well as her nephew, her son's successor.  We saw the building where she imprisoned her nephew for years when she didn't agree with his policies and wanted to keep her power.  Then, he died, by poisoning, the day before she did.  Some people suspect she was poisoned as well.

Phoenix

Dragon

The Summer Palace overlooks a lake.  We took a dragon boat ride across the lake to finish our trip.

Decorative marble boat

Dragon boat

After the Summer Palace, we went to the train station to go to Xi'an.  We took the bullet train instead of flying.  The train seems so much easier since you don't have to go through security and worry about liquids and such.  Also, the time is about the same when you consider you have to get to the airport early.  We enjoyed being able to look out the window at the scenery on the trip.  We had a great time in Beijing and were excited to go to Xi'an.

We had to say goodbye to our tour guide, Albert, when we left Beijing