This is the lake and the 17 Arches bridge at the Summer Palace in Beijing. This was an incredible summer retreat for the emperor and his court. Hundreds of acres of parks, temples, bridges, walks, boat houses, with ornate, opulent architecture. The day we were there was hazy which limited the vistas, but gave a surreal appearance to a very enchanting place.
One of several pagodas that were constructed for the enjoyment of the emperor. The emperor was considered a "son of god" that was sent to earth for a short period to rule the people. There still seems to be a lot of reverence for the emperors of old. They feudal system was overthrown in about 1914.
This is called the Jade Belt bridge because it was constructed to resemble a jade belt worn by royalty. The multitude of bridges were a delight to the civil engineers. Alex and Courtney are now thanking the Lord that they didn't have to endured "bridge talk" while hiking around this park! :-)
Erika ordered pork and rice on the Air China flight. The "pork" was some type of grey substance. hmmm. That aside, we have been very delighted with the food.
We had a 10 hour unplanned layover in NY, so we decided to take the train and subway downtown. This is the family outside of Rockefeller Center.
4 comments:
Great to hear from you! we are excited and can"t wait to meet Julie.We will be praying for her.
I hear that you can get Faux Rollex watches really cheap there. :) Just kidding! Have a great time and take plenty of pictures, you can't take too many. We are really excited to see Julie when you get home. Love, Uncle Mike
Daddy, I would listen to a million "bridge talks" if I could be there. I'd even let you talk about reinforced concrete, tension, and ancient building techniques.
Bring my little sister home SOON!
WOW!!! This site is so neat!!! I am so very excited to meet you julie! I am excited about you trip and am glad you all are having a keen time! :) I love you all and am finding your site very educational!
So here is a shout out from Pleasant Hills, PA!
Love ya all!!!!
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