June 5th: Palaces and Opera

Today we started out by heading to the Old Summer Palace Ruins. This huge old estate once held elaborate parks, gardens, buildings and palaces designed by Italian architects in the Baroque style. However, most of the palace was destroyed during the Opium wars and are still in ruins. The only surviving structure is a stone labyrinth, where contests to reach it to the central dome were held during festivals. We all made it to the middle!




After our morning outing, we headed to McDonalds to satisfy our homesick cravings for American junk-food.




Then, we went to the (new) Summer Palace—a huge and beautiful palace grounds still in excellent condition.



At the Summer Palace we took a boat ride to a replica of Suzhou (a small city near Shanghai, known as “the Venice of the East”).





This very traditional Chinese sight held lots of opportunities, including the chance to learn Chinese instruments, and dress up in traditional Chinese clothing.





We finished our day with a trip to the Peking Opera!
Our show consisted of three classic scenes from three different Operas: Autumn River, Goddess tossing Flowers, and White Snake. These scenes demonstrated examples of the different elements of Opera: singing, acting, dancing, and martial arts.