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Green Beijing
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Morning
Be at the East Gate (Dong Men) of the Summer Palace for 8:30am to beat both the heat (if you are visiting in summer) and the crowds. Make your way along the north shore of Kunming Lake via the Long Corridor and ascend Longevity Hill. Descend again to the Marble Boat and take a pleasure cruiser across the lake to South Lake Island. Cross back to the mainland via the supremely elegant Seventeen-arch Bridge; from here it’s a short walk north to exit where you came in at the East Gate. In the car park pick up a taxi and instruct the driver to take you to Xiang Shan Gongyuan, otherwise known as Fragrant Hills Park. Before you enter, Sculpting In Time is a café near the East Gate that does good salads, pastas, and pizza.
Afternoon
From the park’s East Gate turn right for the Temple of Brilliance, built in 1780 and ransacked by Western troops in 1860 and 1900. Close by is the Liuli Pagoda, with bells hanging from its eaves that chime in the breeze. Continue north to pass between two small round lakes linked by a small hump-backed bridge – the whole known as the Spectacles Lakes. Beyond is a chair lift that takes you up to the top of the “Fragrant Hill”. Zigzag back down past many more pavilions to arrive at the Fragrant Hills Hotel, designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, otherwise best known for his glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris.
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