now we have returned from the back of longevity hill to the front. there is the famous marble boat. this structure is 36 meters in length and its body was made of marble. on top of it is a two storeyed structure. the floor was paved with colored bricks. all of the windows are inlaid with multi-colored glass and the ceiling was decorated with carved bricks. the drainage system channels rain water down through four hollow concrete pillars and into the lake through the mouth of dragon heads.
according to a book written by emperor qianlong, the boat was used for enjoying the scenery and was supposed to be symbolic of the stability of the qing dynasty.
halfway up the slope there stands the hall for listening to orioles . the ancient chinese liken the warble of an oriole to beautiful songs and melodies, hence the name of the hall which used to be a theater. now the hall is one of the most famous restaurants in china, featuring imperial dishes and desserts. it is a must for many foreign visitors to have lunch here when then come to beijing. more than one hundred heads of state worldwide have dined here and the late premier zhou enlai has held banquets here in honor of state guests. (sightseers who want to try the restaurant can go boating after they eat. those who do not can go abroad right away. those who do not feel like taking the boat can stoll along the long corridor to the outside of the east gate). (boating on kunmin lake)
we are now going to enjoy the lakeside scenery from a pleasure boat. as a main part of the summer palace, kunming lake covers an area of 220 hectares, or three fourths of the combined space of this summer resort. this natural lake is more than 3500 years old. this lake was originally called wengshan lake. in 1749 emperor qianlong ordered the construction of qingyi garden, the predecessor of the summer palace. involving nearly 10,000 laborers, the lake was expanded and turned into a peach-shaped reservoir, the first of its kind for beijing. from 1990 to 1991, the beijing municipal government ordered the first dredging of the lake in 240 years .involving 200,000 men and hundreds of dredgers and other tools, a total of 625,600 cubic meters of sludge was dredged and 205 bombs dropped by the japanese during the anti-japanese war were removed.
the summer palace set a precedent for sightseeing by boat. there used to be a large imperial flotilla, of which the “kunming merry dragon” was the most famous. it was destroyed by the anglo-french allied forces in 1860. to make the tour of the summer palace a more pleasant one, a large pleasure boat “tai he ” (supreme harmony )was built. this double –decked boat is 37.09 meters long,8,59 meters wide and 10.49 meters high. it can travel at a speed of 9 kilometer per hour. small pleasure boats are also available to tourist. another major spot of interest on the western causeway is jingming (bright view ) hall. both its front and rear face the lake. this structure also features three two- storeyed halls of varying heights. our tour is drawing to a close as we approach the shore. today we only visited the major scenic areas of the summer palace. i have left other spot of interest for your next visit.
i will show you out through the east gate. i hope you enjoyed today` s tour. thank you .good-bye and good luck.
