Yesterday we went to the Summer Palace, which is in the Haidian District, near Will's university. The Summer Palace served as a royal summer home and is like a massive park, filled with beautiful temples and gardens. We took a boat across the lake and then wandered around the grounds and courtyards.

It was very crowded as you can see in the picture below, but we escaped some of the crowds and found a quiet spot to relax.

Here is a picture of me in front of the marble boat, which the Empress Cixi ordered refurbished as a tribute to the Chinese navy. According to history, the navy would have benefited more from real ships, as their fleet was destroyed in 1894 by the Japanese.

After touring the Palace, we took our bikes to a music festival in Haidian Park that Will's teacher recommended. It was fun to check out the music scene and wander around the park. Quite a different scene from the Summer Palace!

After that we took our bikes and headed back home...we had enough of the crowds for one day!