Stephanie Kendall, a senior public relations major from Singapore, is taking part in the Baylor in China program this summer. In the third in a series of blog posts, Stephanie describes her visit to Beijing’s magnificent Summer Palace.

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A buffet-style breakfast was prepared for us in the dining hall, complete with a typical Chinese dim sum, along with some American-style dishes. At breakfast Wang Laoshi (老师, Professor Wang) announced our plans to have our regular three-hour class, get lunch and then visit the famous Summer Palace (颐和园) where we would learn about the architectural design and layout while exploring the grounds.

After switching from a few buses and walking around Beijing we finally arrived at our first sightseeing destination, the Summer Palace. As we entered the gates we could see lavishly decorated pillars full of bright reds, yellows, blues and greens, which created intricate patterns of flowers, dragons and all sorts of shapes.

Behind the gates were a few buildings and statues surrounded by a bunch of trees. As we walked along the path past the buildings we could see a glimpse of a Longevity Hill and a breathtaking view of Kunming Lake bordering the Summer Palace. I had to stop for a moment and take a few pictures at this gorgeous sight, so I could forever remember this moment in time.

While taking a few pictures and admiring the beautiful sights of the Summer Palace, Wang Laoshi informed us that we would have a small boat race along the lake to see who could reach the Seventeenth Arched Bridge.

Divided into three different teams we headed out to the water to start our race. Ready, set, go! Pedaling faster and faster my group (Juanita, Nathan and Olivia) managed to surpass another group (Wang Laoshi, Billy, Holly and Amanda S.), but were still trailing a few meters behind a third group (Yudong, Jacob and Amanda R.). We pedaled as fast as we could trying to reach the arched bridge before the other groups, but weren’t fast enough to catch up to the first boat (with Yudong, Jacob and Amanda R.). After the race we were all exhausted and decided to stop pedaling and just admire the sights and sounds of Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill.

After the boat race we ventured through a long corridor to reach the heart of the Palace. Here we could see the Tower of Buddhist Incense atop a large hill, overlooking part of China. This Tower of Buddhist Incense was specifically built for the Empress Dowager Cixi, since she was strictly Buddhist.

The structure and design of the Tower was breathtaking and beautiful to witness. The colors radiated in the sunlight, making it the prettiest structure at the Summer Palace.

At our last destination in the Summer Palace we came across a water market area, which was designed for the Empress as well. She would often get sick, but loved the look of water, so she had a water market made in order for her to admire the market without actually sailing along the canals. Once again the architecture was stunning, filled with lots of bright reds, golds and blues.

We all hopped onto a bus and headed to another local Chinese restaurant. After our delicious meal we came back to the hotel and prepared for another day filled with class and sightseeing.