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The Summer Palace rates
as one of my favourite places in the whole world. Once you get
beyond the chaos around the entrance and the overcrowded buildings
there, it becomes increasingly tranquil, almost sublime along the
Western edge of the lake. It must be the epitome of "picturesque"
even to the extent of providing ornately shaped windows with painted
vegetation, perfectly framing the vistas beyond.
Ironically, despite
the name, I have never managed to visit during the summer. On my
first visit in January 1986, the lake was frozen hard enough for
hundreds of Chinese to be out skating, sledging or otherwise
entertaining
themselves rather like a Breughel landscape. Everyone seemed to be
wearing either military uniforms or the ubiquitous dark blue cotton
tunics of Cultural Revolution vintage; hardly a tourist to be seen!
One day I may get round to scanning those early images; for now the
images are mostly from my most recent visit in December 2010.
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