The Playgrounds of Emperors - The Summer Palace and Olympic Green

time2giver (45)in #travel • 7 years ago

A much deserved slow morning was in order. The coffee around here sucks and tea is just not my idea of a morning pick me up, so we hit the road, grabbing a strange doughy pancake thing on the street. The subway was busy and it certainly didn't help that we made our usual wrong direction detour, but a little before mid day we arrived at the Summer Palace.
It's clear why the ancient Dynasties wanted to keep this lake front penthouse of a cottage community to themselves. The serenely blue Lake Kunming centers the 1 mile square, surrounded by a village of palaces, pagodas and architecturally stunning bridges. Like all places in China it's a busy location, but for the first time since arrival we encountered the halo of smog overhead we'd heard about from others. The dingy sky was not going to dampen our spirits on this day however, we meandered the paths, crossed the bridges and snapped pics from all the lookouts we found.
As expected with ancient Chinese architecture, no artistic talent was spared ensuring the emperor's playground was as exquisite as he would have demanded. Colorful hand painted columns, ceilings and walls dazzled as we shuffled through the temple corridors. The incredible craftsmanship and impeccable attention to detail were mesmerizing to the eyes and tiring to the neck as it engulfed our every sense.
The visitors too were enjoying themselves laughing and smiling in amazement, children playing lakeside while lovers sat lock eyed beneath the mystical trees. The entire land had a magical feeling like walking through history in the footsteps of royals and sharing their view from Longevity Hill. You could float through the lake on a dragon boat ferry or scale the steps to the pavilion in the clouds. The gold and red of the temples stood meshed in perfect harmony with the natural greens of the elderly trees.
It was a fantastic place to spend a day lost in time but for us there was more, from past to present, we moved to the modern day city, The Olympic Village. Transit was smooth by subway and foot, no wrong turns or missed stops this trip.
There was a flurry of activity on the grounds, it was the modern day version of the summer palace we just left. The stadium and aquatic centre stood tall as sculptures of modern design. Podiums, rings and the torch like monuments of our time. There were even rivers alive with dancing water synched with lights and music. People were roaming, flying kites and grabbing a bite. Leisure was the name of the game, no races or rushing these days. Mascots were waving and vendors were dealing. As the sun lowered on the horizon the flashing gadgets and glowing streamers came out and we departed the scene. It was a full day for sure, our camera had gone limp and feet cried for mercy. We trekked back to the hostel and collapsed with a beer. It was a day for the books, filled with action and awe but there was no time for rest as we packed our bags for tomorrow. Stop two on our Chinese adventure was on the horizon and coming in quick.......... it's time2giver