The summer palace is one of the best preserved parks. One feature that marks its difference, compared to the Forbidden city is the decoration pieces. There are lots and lots of rocks.
What's so special about this rock? It's also known as the 败家石. It said that long long ago, there's this businessman who wanted to bring this rock home, from a faraway place. In the course of doing so, he spent all his fortune while the 'move' was only halfway to home. So, he gave up and covered it with straw. One day, emperor Qianlong passed by and saw it. He decided to move it to the summer palace. However, when the rock arrived, it was too huge for the 'doorway'. As a result, the emperor asked to break down the gate, move the rock in, then re-built the gate. He was reprimanded by his mother for wasting resources. In fact, the rock was huge. To move it, they waited till winter when the rock can glide through the layer of ice to reach its final resting place.
Read more about Summer Palace here
~ more photos at http://gallery-beijing.blogspot.com/
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