blackwoolholiday

The gorgeously rich colour pallete of the Summer Palace, also used throughout the forbidden city.

Climbing the steps to the Tower of Buddhist Incense inside the Summer Palace.

A musician in the foyer of Grand Mercure Beijing Central.

(when we arrived, we were greeted by three women in red silk cheong sam, and two women in white performing tai chi in the foyer)

First sights of Beijing

Up another flight of stairs, at the very highest point of the garden, we found a pagoda/shrine building, a tiny kiosk, and a few dogs being exercised by their owners.

Ash told me a story about how the little old man in the kiosk was a seller of granted wishes, and if I was to go and speak with him, he would grant me a wish. But he would be grumpy because he was about to set up shop.

Sure enough, just as he said that, the fog swirled in thicker, and when it cleared again, the little metal roller door was shut tight.

At one point we emerged onto a lawn, with a gazebo in the centre, surrounded by perfectly tended roses and magnolias. The gazebo itself was a gold lit island in the fog.