Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Royal Mazes X Heritage Puzzles: Summer Palace 頤和園

Summer Palace

is where the Royal people hang out

without the need to go too far from Forbidden City

 

I took more photos than I did at Forbidden City

because it was a perfectly sunny day

Summer Palace plaque 頤和園牌匾SuZhou Street 蘇州街Four Great Region Tibetan Temples 四大部洲Temple of Wisdom 智慧海the two lion cubs looking towards the lake are cute.. too bad couldn't capture the front viewKunMing Lake, Summer Palace 頤和園之昆明湖one of the small towers, 頤和園之山色湖光共一樓climbing uphill *heaving and sweating*Bronze Hut, 頤和園之銅亭(寶云閣)Bodhisattva Tower, Summer Palace 頤和園之佛香閣Guan Yin Bodhisattva , Summer Palace 頤和園之佛香閣千手觀音Bodhisattva Tower, Summer Palace 頤和園之佛香閣\

KunMing Laka X Longetivity Hill: Summer Palace 昆明湖 X 萬壽山:頤和園smaller structure in Summer Palaceagainst the juniper shades and stones KunMing Lake 昆明湖Gate of Scholar, Summer Palace 頤和園之文昌閣Seventeen arches bridge of Summer Palace, 頤和園之十七孔橋willows along the bank

 

The Long Gallery a.k.a. The Long Corridor 長廊

longest in the world, rectified by Guinness

14000 paintings of folk tales,

auspicious flora and fauna, sceneries

The Long Gallery a.k.a. The Long Corridor, Summer Palace 頤和園長廊

The Long Gallery a.k.a. The Long Corridor, Summer Palace 頤和園長廊The Long Gallery a.k.a. The Long Corridor, Summer Palace 頤和園長廊

 

I kept pondering

the angle design must be kinda complicated

the paintings were all drawn above eye level

but when you look up to take a look

the painting is a comfortable sight

not as if they are slanting

more over, it is not drawn on flat wall

these are pillars and beams

which presents more difficulties

The Long Gallery a.k.a. The Long Corridor, Summer Palace 頤和園長廊The Long Gallery a.k.a. The Long Corridor, Summer Palace 頤和園長廊The Long Gallery a.k.a. The Long Corridor, Summer Palace 頤和園長廊The Long Gallery a.k.a. The Long Corridor, Summer Palace 頤和園長廊P1240175

 

most of the Chinese characters are developed

from the shape or outline of the actual object

can you trace a  “宮”character in the layout?

“宮”exactly stands for palace

頤和園之“宮”

 

oh man

the Marble boat, was under renovation

Marble Boat, Summer Palace 頤和園之清晏坊(石方) 

 

woof woof

too bad his buddy on the left wing

has gone missing

baby dog?

the poor phoenix

phoenix who was trapped

the Bronze Ox

overlooking the Kunming lake

symbolizes the “stabilization” of the lake,

to avoid water overflowing and flood

Bronze Ox, Summer Palace 頤和園之銅牛

 

by the way, I was thinking that

translated as Summer Palace is a little misleading

because there is another Royal Park

which is meant for a getaway from summer heat

Cheng De Imperial Summer Villa 承德避暑山莊

which is situated in the He Nan province

230km away from Beijing

 

this marked a complete 3 days Royal Journey:

Forbidden City

Temple of Heaven

Summer Palace

map is an essential or preferably audio guide