I left around 850 to go to the lab to meet Wendy. I met him there and we left to go to the train station. It was an easy ride there, no transfers, just a straight shot. At the correct station we got off and walked to the entrance of the palace. Wendy bought our admission tickets, and we went in at 1000. Our adventure would last 6 hours, and even with 6 hours, we did not even come close to seeing it all.
The first thing that was there was a kind of Italian-like canal town/village but with a Chinese flair. It had been built for one of the emperor's wives because she missed her South China home which had canals. So he built it for her. We then kept on walking - there are some serious sloping stairs here..it was pretty awesome. We saw one of the entrance gates and the soldiers' quarters, and then proceeded to a Buddhist Temple. It was huge - it is from this vantage point that I took photos as we walked around the 750 acre man-made lake. We saw a Chinese opera house in the palace and gorgeous painting like that of the forbidden city. Most of the palace had been burned down in the 1860's, and the emperors of the last dynasties rebuilt it. We then entered an artifact gallery and saw some incredible jade work, bronze work and ceramics. After this, we crossed the 17 arch bridge to a central island and sat for awhile. From there, we circled the lake, crossing many bridges as we progressed on the path. One was very airy and steep but breath-taking. There are many pretty willows and other flora around the entire place. Overall I would call it spectacular ginormous and quite gorgeous.
When I got back to "town", I went to dinner with Ben and three of the guys from his lab. We went to a place that served donkey meat in buns (yes, there is a great place for a joke here but I will refrain). They were very good actually, and at a mere 89 U.S. cents per burger, I had four of them! I definitely plan to go back. I then watched a basketball game from the window in Ben's room and visited with him. He is a very interesting person, with some even more interesting views about the world.
the approach
The Lions - this one has an orb of power under its paw to symbolize the clutching at power.
The Lions - this one has a cub to represent that the rulers care.
Phoenixes on the cieling 
A sign that I forgot what it stands for
going in
roof tiles - note the intricacy.
the water area
me in the water area
more canal areas, the design were very detailed.
lotus flowers 
intricate beauty
Lotus flowers
dead fish
bridge
overlooking the lake
me on the bridge
over the water area - it was sunken into the land.
kite 
Rooster
Rooster on a lamp
draw bridge
Obama drawn by one of the street artists.
Phoenixes 
me again
Amazing details
going up to a secluded pavilion 
peacock
walking
overlook
good signs
into the forest
stairs
over the lake
boat area, there is one that is sunk under the overhand
Bridge
Rooster
The decor for the bridge not flat - very 3-D
the Marble boat
over looking the lake
there was miles of this kind of walkway and there were paintings on every inch of it like the one below.
Intricate
we went up into one of the towers overlooking lake
the tiles
me 
overlook
stairs
the sign is awesome - one should read it.
another lion with a ball to symbolize power
the Buddhist temple 
little creature
looking up
the eaves 
intricate
looking up
looking out
a roof decoration - this thing was as big as I am!
the palace next door
overlooking - the city is on the horizon.
straight out from the temple
out 
out even more
climbing higher
higher
highest - looking at the top of the temple
me with the temple in background
The bronze temple - all bronze; the windows were taken during the Anglo french war and were bought and returned as a gift from the same countries who took them.
more "hallways"
tree
decor
Peacock 
they would fill these with ice or "fire" and then it would be an AC/heating unit of sorts; they had tunnels under the buildings to carry the cooled or heated air
paths
a map of the place
looking back
me on the bridge of 17 arches
that is the Buddhist temple
Buddhist temple again - used it as a vantage point to show where we are within the park/palace
out to another pavilion and bridge
the airy bridge - unbelievably tall 
from the top - there are swimmers in the canal down there.
from the top back in the direction of the Buddhist temple - it is too far away to be seen though
to another pavilion and bridge
Buddhist temple way over there
other direction from the Buddhist temple - there was more lakes, all man-made
more lake
from one of the bridges - the Buddhist temple
a spire in the distance on the other side; we were on a causeway to get back across the lake
Buddhist temple
the spire - we did not have time to visit it though
Buddhist temple 
Buddhist temple getting closer every time
Buddhist temple getting closer every time
airy bridge
out from the top of the bridge in the direction we had just come
Buddhist temple
Buddhist temple -there is a tea boat in the left of the frame
This was the opera house - sorry, the photos were out of order; we came to this after the Buddhist temple
more opera house
cooling or heating system
intricate
park area
dragon without ball and phoenix
the creature to ward off evil
guard
carved out of rock 
one of the gates
back to the Buddhist temple
a bronze lion, very intricate (my word of the day)
'nother carved wall piece
to the 17 arches bridge
Buddhist temple
17 arches bridge
17 arches bridge getting closer
17 arches bridge getting closer
the bronze bull
17 arches bridge getting closer
17 arches bridge getting closer
Buddhist temple
Buddhist temple
walking 
over the airy bridge, (there are some major mess -ups in terms of photo order here) 
Across the causeway, there were several pavilion type bridges.
walking on the causeway
sunken machinery
bridge
on the way back to dorm on campus
on the way back to dorm on campus
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