Over the last few days I had the privilege of traveling back to the Peoples Republic of China. I can now officially say that the plane ride gets easier after the first time. It felt strange to leave Beijing just months ago and return to the same airport terminal that we left. Stranger still, on our first full day in Beijing we went to the Summer Palace which was the last place I went to in May before departing.
The first time I went to the Summer Palace we only spent maybe three hours there and I left wanting to see so much more. The grounds are magnificently huge. Being able to spend an entire day there was definitely the proper way to enjoy the palace.
The only proper impression of the grounds is that they are beautiful. The work put in to building the location is staggering. Besides the August heat, it is not difficult to see why the Emperor would want to spend his summers there.