Day 2
It was a very nice day at the summer palace, as we walked in we can feel the breeze from Kunming Lake (0.85 Sq mile). The summer palace was originally known as Imperial Garden, and it was about a 40 minute drive from Beijing. The lake was constructed in front of the tower, it's a manmade lake is 2.2 square kilometers in size. In 1850s the garden was destroyed during the second opium war. Empress Dowager Cixi rebuilt the garden and make the garden more opulent than ever. The empress loved the summer palace and spent most of her final years amidst the gardens. The marble boat is her favorite spot, she would often have meals served on the boat. The empress spend so much money on the palace, some say she used money from supporting the army.
The Hall of Benevolence and Longevity is where the emperor has the affairs of state. While dragons are said to symbolize the emperor, the bank one statues symbolize the absolute regency of the empress.
After lunch we went to Beijing Shijingshan community college, the program was called "China American culture exchange activity". They walked us to a room that was set up as a tea room, we got to sit next to the students and teachers from the college. I got to meet Penny and exchange our knowledge on our everyday activities. She goes to school and works part time at Pacific Coffee Company, and I told her I work full time and go to school part time at Middlesex. She asked us to visit her at work if we are in the area where she was going to be working the next day. I told her I would love to stop by because I love coffee. I thought her English was very good compared to my Chinese. Tea is considered to be the most refreshing drink. We learned the history of tea and how it is made. The history of tea dates back to ancient China, according to legend the Empire Shen Nung discovered tea when the leaves from the wild tree fell down on his hot boiling water and he liked the taste of it. We each got a gift of a Jasmine tea cub. The tea cup represents three things, the bottom means hell, the middle means human, and the top means heaven. It's a nobility. Then we went for a Chinese traditional paper cutting class, which is usually used for spring festivals and others occasions. We also learned how to make dumplings by hand and we got to taste it after. I thought the class equipment was pretty moddern. It was a great experience. We got to experience what it is like to be in the class of a college in Beijing and make friends.