Sunday Snapshot {The Summer Palace in March}

Lots of catching up to do with my China pics.  But I will be the Little Engine that Could and will get them all edited and posted eventually.  

I think we traveled on the last cool week of the year.  This brisk air and cooler temperatures gave everything a different feel.  Looking back, that feeling was dreamy and magical.  

The dragon boats on Kunming Lake.
I WILL come back some day with Mimi in the spring or fall and go on the  Dragon boats!
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Canon Rebel very old and very tired T1I, 24-70 zoom
Yes I hauled that 24-70 lens all around China.  It's heavy, but it's my favorite!
35mm, 100 ISO, f2.8, 1/250 sec.
I guarantee that all these settings are not only a total accident but BAD settings at that.  It was a very gloomy day.  Not sure why I had the ISO set at 100.  And why at f2.8 for a landscape shot?  Not a clue.  I plead insanity.   

The Summer Palace is a palace in Beijing, largely built in the mid-1700's as a place for royals to relax and entertain.  It later became a royal residence.  Today it is also used as a recreational park by  Chinese residents.
Here we are in the Long Corridor that runs the length of the Kunming Lake and makes for a lovely stroll even on a chilly afternoon in March.

They say there are 14,000 paintings along The Long Corridor.  When we were there, most were faded, peeling, chipping, and in very bad need of restoration, as is all of The Summer Palace.  These were two of the paintings I found there were in good enough shape to see the images.    

On top of Longevity Hill, the Tower of Buddhist Incense is the highest building in the Summer Palace.  

I think something is lost in translation here.  As was often the case.  

A very rare occasion that we saw the sun.  I think we only saw the sun twice on our trip.   This pic gives you a good idea how bad the pollution was in Beijing.  

17-Arch Bridge leading to an island.