China has always held a special place in my heart. Living there for two and a half years meant I got to explore some of the many treasures. Back in 2014 I started my first year of teaching in Dongguan. It was then that we made a trip up North to the Old Summer Palace of Beijing. We’d often take short day trips to Palaces and Temples. Just walking through the brightly coloured corridors and walkways of these beautiful cultural sites was a wonder on its own but I had never realised just how much history was hidden there.
The Summer Palace was first built in 1750. It now forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I had heard the Palace looks different each and every time you visit. This time, we were visiting in February which meant a cold icy Winter!
It was freezing, and those pink ear muffs I had bought at one of the markets came in handy. Everything at the Palace was frozen but the cutest part? The little families sledding on the frozen moats! The Summer Palace is known for it’s colourful corridors and Imperial Gardens…. in fact, you could walk for hours and hours and still not see it all. There are endless walking routes which means each time you visit the Summer Palace, you could take a completely new route and find something else to see.
I had been back twice after, and I’d still love to go back again. Here are 30 photos to inspire you to visit the Summer Palace in Beijing.
