China Day 2 - Summer Palace (Yiheyuan)

Assalamualaikum. Ni Hao!

Previous entry (here).

Pejam celik, pejam celik...it's already mid January, 2020. Seems like what I called angin Rajin; left the system immediately after the previous entry. That was like 3 months ago. Hooray!

And tonight, suddenly ada rasa untuk update. Lets hope this one will not end up in the draft folder. *pray*

13 January 2016
Beijing, China

So, we took the subway from Beijing Railway Station to Beigongmen Station Line 4 (Exit D). From there we had to walked another 4 minutes to reach the the North Palace Gate. Memang dari pagi acara bakar lemak jaklah dua wanita jelita. Walhal cuma 4 minit ok! Sobs.

Summer Palace has different opening hour depending on the seasons. From Apr to October (630am-6pm) and Nov to Mac (7pm-5pm). Obviously we don't have much time to visit all the gardens in this palace. Recommended to tour the palace is 3 hours minimum. While we arrived the palace around 3pm. All because of the drama we caused at Beijing Xi Station. Akulah master planner paling failed saat itu. Huh!

"Is the largest and most well-preserved royal park in China, it greatly influences Chinese horticulture and landscape with its famous natural views and cultural interests, which also has long been recognized as 'The Museum of Royal Gardens'.

Yiheyuan radiates fully the natural beauty and the grandeur of royal gardens. Composed mainly of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, it owns over 3,000 man-made ancient structures, including pavilions, towers, bridges, corridors, etc" 

-travelchinaguide-

#1 Ticket price is RMB 20 (Nov to Mac). It's best to go during summer they say. Apa boleh buat, si Bibie kan berangan Elsa. Tu yang winter-winter pun dia belasah.

#2 Kunming Lake, the larger part that covers the palace area.

Masa sampai, nampak lah segala peralatan atas lake ni. Macam ada water games pun ya. Tapi ndak kan buat time sejuk bedi kan. Lantak lah, janji kami ndak kena paksa untuk participate. 

#3 Muka hangus wind+sunburn. Tabahlah diri masing-masing

#4 Posing ala-getaway dilupa jangan. Pasrah si Jea melayan tripping-retis travel mate dia kali ni. Seen as background on the Longevity Hill is the Tower of Buddhist Incense

Dari kejauhan we saw the Seventeen-Arch Bridge. So kami sudah siap-siap memeterai perjanjian. Exploration Summer Palace berakhir once we reached the bridge. We had another place to go after this palace. Hence we can't stay long here. Memang both of us pun kepenatan sudah. Ndak payahlah beria mau tawaf although kalau sampai bridge tu maknanya kami cuma berjaya cover 1/4 of the whole palace. Oklah tu, sudah berjaya jejak & lihat before our own eyes how massive the palace is. Yang main points pun memang boleh nampak albeit from afar. 

#5 The Seventeen-Arch Bridge

Connecting Kunming Lake & Nahu Island on the other side. It was built between 1711-1799. Actually ada lebih kurang 30 bridges in this palace but this bridge is the largest one. Logik lah ini yang kami jejak. 

#6 Kuoro Pavilion 

#8 We did walked to the middle of the bridge which is the biggest arch. Memang lawa view kiri kanan, depan belakang. And those small lions sculpture at each column; semua berbeza ukiran tau.  

#10 Life-size bronze Ox; it was cast in the image of a live creature in 1755. 

#11 Used to be called Golden Ox because it was originally gilded with gold foil. But the foil peeled off when the palace suffered from despoiling.

Apart from possessing flood control power, this bronze Ox is also use to monitor water level. Kunming Lake's east bank was built 10 metres higher than Forbidden City. Bursting on the east bank would mean that Forbidden City is in danger. Hence why the ox was set there. 

#12 Ni view memang confirm lawa kalau sunset or sunrise. 

#13 Nope, we didn't cross over to Nanhu Island. Perjuangan kami sampai center bridge saja. Sekian.

#14 Perjuangan dia ni posing sebelah bridge nampaknya masih membara. Tabah jaklah layan perangai!

#15 Another bridge spotted but this one rather small than the Seventeen-Arch bridge. Not sure yang bentuk pagoda tu apa

#16 Another bridge. 

This one memang feel zaman dulu kala. With a pavilion at its center; bolehlah imagine king & queen dating di sana dulu. Sambil layan view lake menguning disiram cahaya mentari senja. Gitu!

#17 We ended our Summer Palace exploration at this gate. 

Memang banyak lagi boleh round dalam ni. I saw some pictures taken at the Rear Area of the Longevity Hills. They are so pretty. Apakan daya, masa cemburu. Plan asal memang mau berlamaan di sini. Tu yang check out awal from hotel. Tapi bersesatan pula di train station kan. Itulah, kita merancang tapi sebaik-baik Perancang is only Allah SWT. 

Blessing in disguise kejadian 'sesat' tu. In which the hikmah was already shown to us. Umur panjang, murah rezeki bolehlah jejak sini lagi & try cover mana yang skipped haritu. For the time being, aku memang tiada plan untuk repeat Summer Palace ni. But who knows right ntah esok tiba-tiba aku meroyan beli flight ticket to Beijing & reenter this palace. 

Kami keluar dari palace tu ikut gate mana ntah tapi memang walkertapaki nearly 20 minutes juga to reach the train station. Banyak nampak 'teksi basikal' tepi jalan tapi gagah lah kami kerah tenaga kaki. Sempatlah keluar peluh jantan. Alang-alang menggembara kan, jalan jaklah. Lagipun winter. Summer kalu, memang dari awal aku lambai abang basikal walau si Jea against it. 

#18 Some area near Xiyuan Station (Line 4 or 16). Sempat kami tinjau area ni, lepas tu berposing tiada sempadan. Siap suruh buat deco lawa-lawa kan.

#19 Tersuka with this wall deco. And TERsuruh Jea ambilkan gambar TERposing. Tettt! Those aren't real birds if I'm not mistaken

#20 Dan harus kebulur. 

And so we ordered taro pie. Masa ni Malaysia belum ada this kinda pie; haruslah lagi membuak rasa mau try benda baru. We also ordered hot drink to go with the pie. Perut sudah berkeriuk nyanyi, memang tune lari gila oii. Baru perasan last meal we had was breakfast. And masa ni sudah mau dekat Maghrib. Kejam gila sama perut.

We loitered around the train station before boarding the train to our next destination. Mau habiskan pie & our drink; sambil posing ndak ketentuan sama statues. Perangai.

So, where are we to next? Niujie Mosque! And also pi food court halal lepas tu. Barang diingat, pie tu cume pengalas perut. Malam kan mau tidur di Beijing Railway Station, therefore kena isi perut sebaik mungkin. Chances to get halal or Muslim-friendly food at the station sangat tipis. Setakat snacks or fruits tu harus ada, I am talking about proper meal. Tu yang bersungguh mau reload perut di food court.

Nanti aku sambung lagi story terbengkalai bertahun-tahun ni. Semoga semakin rajin (ni boleh diragui level paling atas).

Till then, wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim