Yiheyuan—New Summer Palace, 2
ARTIST RESIDENCY CHINA — BEIJING, no. 7
The commanding center piece of the symmetrically designed Yiheyuan — New Summer Palace — in Haidian, Beijing, is the Buddhist Temple on top of the precipitously steep Longevity Hill overlooking Kunming Lake. The hill was augmented with excavation of the entirely man-made lake. Photography only serves to mislead regarding the actual contrast of scale, compression and expansion of space, and extremely large quantities of color and ornamentation.
central lake gate opposite the Buddhist Temple gate
inside the first courtyard of the Buddhist Temple
hundreds of bronze gifts on pedestals from princes to Empress Dowager Cixi, each one unique
elaborate cloisonné in special blue
paintings under every eaves
a steep climb from the lake to the temple
imperial roof guardians
view of the turtle — 17-arch bridge and island beyond the temple roofs
the temple itself — no photos allowed of the Guanyin Buddha
view from the top — the guard’s gate and Beijing Centre City
Kunming Lake
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