Beijing Pictures: Chinese Man Sleeping in RiTan Park; Pictures Of Beijing Dragon Boat at the Summer Palace.

These Beijing pictures taken during many visits to the capital city of China, can only give a personal view of the city and the Chinese people. Taking pictures in Beijing of the monuments and palaces is probably the most popular activity for tourists. They can show their Beijing pictures as proof of having been to China's fascinating capital city. At one time, less so now, the Beijing pictures taken by the Chinese people, would sometimes include the image of a foreign visitor, but they are no longer a rarity in the city. The Chinese people themselves have now become "the tourists" visiting their Capital City. One day, on a visit to Ri Tan Park in Beijing, a Chinese man was seen sleeping on a bench in one of the pavilions, its ceiling painted with pictures from Chinese classics, many of which he would have read in his school days.

One of the classics, 'The Dream Of Red Mansions' is sometimes shown on Chinese television as a series, and parts of these films have been filmed in the Grand View Gardens in Beijing. The layout of the Grand View Gardens, [Daguan Yuan] is based on this classic story of Baoyu's love for Daiyu. Any visit to Beijing would be enhanced by a visit to the Grand View Gardens for an insight into the lifestyles of wealthy families of ancient times, and particularly the undoubted skill of the landscape gardeners in Beijing, who created this masterpiece. Which ever season a visit to Beijing is made, the gardens will present different experiences; from ghostly footprints in the winter snow to the haunting rustle of leaves of the willow trees at the sides of the lakes. It may not now be a familiar sight to see sedan carriers on the streets of Beijing, but in the Grand View Gardens, sedan carriers can sometimes be seen giving rides to visitors, to the sound of drums and trumpets.

The Summer Palace in Beijing is a World Heritage site, being one of the many palaces in which the Emperors of China resided at different times of the year. The Forbidden City in Beijing has been protrayed in many films including the film titled, 'The Last Emperor', but their other 'palaces' are not so well known. However, most group tours to Beijing will pay a visit to the Summer Palace, and individual visitors to Beijing can get to the Summer Palace by car or by bus.

Alongside the lake at the Summer Palace there is a paved walkway lined with trees, then comes the Long Gallery nearly half a mile long. An open, all wood structure about three Metres wide having trellised sides half a Metre tall topped with wide planks. On one visit we saw Chinese people using these tops to have a nap, with others using them just to sit and chat. The Summer Palace gallery, not shown in these Beijing pictures, was spectacular enough but it was also ornately decorated both inside and out, and on the solid trusses under the roof, were painted pictures depicting events from the Chinese classic stories, including the Three Kingdoms.

On the Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace grounds are different kinds of boats, one of which is shown in the Beijing picture above, being a Dragon Boat for trips around the lake. The most famous or infamous boat on the Kunming Lake is surely the Marble Boat moored to a landing stage. The funds for the building of the Marble Boat are said to have been acquired by the Dowager Empress, from funds allocated for other purposes. When Beijing visitors go to the Summer Palace they have the opportunity of boarding the Marble Boat, but not to go cruising around the lake itself!