China - June 2002
More of Beijing:
 Beijing Hutong - An old city street with many shops |
 Bicycles are one of the main forms of transportation |
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 In Beijing, we stayed at the Beijing Palace Hotel. A very nice place with a pool and very close to the main shopping street, Wangfujing. So we were able to do a lot of great shopping. |
 The only way to ride on Wangfujing Street. |
 Spikey is in her Chinese dress and hat. |
 Li Family Restaurant |
Thanks to one of Richard's students, Vincent, we were lucky enough to eat at the Li Family Restaurant. This is a tiny restaurant serving only 3 tables per night. The 85 year old chef (in the middle of the picture at the left) is the grandson of the chef for the last emperor. He prepares the banquet exactly as it would have been prepared for the emperor. The food is magnificent. Others who have eaten here are Bill Gates and Muhammed Ali, unfortunately it was fully booked when Bill Clinton tried to eat here. The meal consisted of 10 appetizer and 10 main courses. We were quite full by the end. Mr. Li comes out between courses and explained the dishes to us. To find out more about the restaurant click here and here.
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| The Summer Palace, is the best-kept existing royal garden in Beijing. It was first named the Garden of Clear Ripples, which was burnt down by the allied forces of Great Britain and France in 1860. Reconstruction started 25 years later and was completed in 1895, and the name was changed to Yiheyuan (Garden of Good Health and Harmony). The design gives prominence to the Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. The total area is 290 hectares, and the buildings are measured in over 3,000 bays. The lake is man made |
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 Longevity Hill |
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 A man is writing a poem in calligraphy with water, so by the time he gets to the end, the beginning has dried up and disappeared. |
 The roof of the summer palace was gold glazed tiles. Gold roof could only be used for the emperor. Green glaze was for rich noblemen, all others were unglazed. Also the statues on the tips of the roof, tell how powerful the person was. The emperor had the most. |
 Marble boat, it certainly didn't float |
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 Spikey felt it fit her perfectly. |
 As part of the conference, we had a dinner in the Summer Palace. |
 The food was really beautiful, even though we didn't care much for the turtle soup. |
 During the conference we stayed in these quarters adjacent to the summer palace, which were said to be where the emperor's concubines lived. |
 Part of our compound had a small lake and beautiful gazebo. |
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