The Summer Palace, in its prime must have been a fabulous place. The eccentric empress had her own theater stage, and the emblematic Marble Boat, which goes nowhere (it's really stone), was built with money meant for the navy. Indeed the army would have been more useful, as the palace was ravished twice by Anglo-French forces.
Notice the newly painted woods, and the different style of buildings on the back.
Of course, I also went to the "Forbiden City". As you can see, Mao is still looking over the entrance. The place is huge, and though you can see the main sights in a couple of hours, you need a whole day to see it thoroughly - endless courtyards..
And (part of) Tiannanmen Square. It is a strange place. You can just feel it. Here you see it on workers day, all the red flags were out, and the large picture on display is of SunYatSen, initiator of the Chinese Republic.
On a normal day, walking around this huge square, children and adults flying kites, one feels cheerful, safe and small (as you should feel in China?), a oasis of calm in hectic Beijing. But - it is also too quiet, no garbage, no games, no salespeople, only the occasional guards crossing about in their perfectly robotic movement. Order. Not quite natural. As if.. peace and order are kept by an invisible force. Symbolic?
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