A fascination with Beijing that started over thirty years ago

Beijing was certainly proving fascinating. It was noticeable that the main locations visited were mostly historic remnants from various dynasties. The Summer Palace, then on the northwestern outskirts of the city proved quite stunning, a scene helped indeed by the beautiful weather. The largest and most well-preserved royal park in China, I was intrigued to discover the vast Kunming Lake was actually man-made. It is connected by a canal to the former Xizhimen Gate on the city's once encircling Ming Walls. This was the route emperors would be transported by barge from near the Forbidden City. In later years I would walk that way, literally following history. Across the lake rose the pagoda-topped Jade Spring Hill set within a background of the much higher Fragrant Hills. The latter, once a royal hunting reserve, it today remains one of Beijing’s finest public parks.