Journeys: Summer Palace

The second day in Beijing, we visited Gong Wang Fu and the Summer Palace.

Gong Wang Fu was built in the Qing Dynasty by He-Shen, the most corrupt official in Chinese history. The Mansion was later confiscated by Jiaqing Emperor, the successor of Qianlong Emperor under who He-Shen had served. The Mansion is famous for its beautiful gardens, lavish decor, and usage of materials that rivaled that of the Forbidden City. And of course, this was a punishable offense back in that time. He-Shen with his other crimes, was put to death by the Jiaqing Emperor. It was said that He-Shen’s fortune at the time of his death totaled 15 times that of the Qing Dynasty annual budget. The current City of Bell scandal – it is not even close… Unfortunately, Gong Wang Fu does not have the English instructions like the Forbidden City or the Summer Palace but this is definitely a well-preserved Chinese style mansion that is worth the visit.

And then there’s the Summer Palace… I didn’t get the chance to visit the Summer Palace when I was last in Beijing 20 years ago. The Summer Palace was also commissioned in the Qing Dynasty and the two square kilometer Kunming Lake was entirely man made. The dirt that came out of the “lake” was then piled together to make the Longevity Mountain, which stands about 60 meters high… The Palace landscape, architecture, paintings of the hallways and stairs, and the amazing view from top of the Longevity Mountain… it must be nice to be the Emperor.

As we continued our walk through the Summer Palace in our winter jackets, I imaged being the Empress strolling through the gardens that are covered with yellow autumn leaves. The marble boat parked by the bank of the lake, the red colored boat docks, the arched marble stone bridges all for my personal enjoyment... And the crowd, they might as well be my entourage… As the sun starts to set, the air gradually turned sharper, the crowd thinned. If I was the Empress, this will not just be my Summer Palace, I will come here to enjoy the crisp air and the solitude of the Palace in the fall…

When you are ready to be an Emperor or Empress for a day, visit the Summer Palace…

My favorite quotes

"If you're really listening. If you're awake to the poignant beauty of the world, your heart breaks regularly. In fact, your heart is made to break, it's purpose is to burst open again and again so that it can hold evermore wonder"- Andrew Harvey

"The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness" - William Saroyan

"We never touch people so lightly that we do not leave a trace" - Peggy Tabor Millin

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." - Mark Twain

"The good is the enemy of the best" - Voltaire

"The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams" - Oprah Winfrey

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new" - Albert Einstein

"To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness" - Bertrand Russell

"Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry" - Mark Twain

"When you can make the average Great, your dreams can become a reality" - Suze Orman

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others" - Marianne Williamson

"Be the change you want to see in the world" - Mahatma Gandhi

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" - Albert Einstein

"I believe that [everyone] is the keeper of a dream - and by tuning into one another's secret hopes, we can become better friends, better partners, better parents, and better lovers" - Oprah Winfrey

"The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well" - Joe Ancis

Summer Palace

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