After a three-month stint in Beijing, I went home for a month. It’s funny how being away makes you appreciate every little thing. Of course there is family – my husband, sons, my mom, brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues. Then there are blue skies, clean air, the sound of quiet, driving my car, air conditioning, clean bathrooms, ice …
A month later, I am back in Beijing. It’s different this time. While it is still a fabulous adventure, it was much tougher leaving home. The first time, there was the mystery of Asia and the challenge of the new business venture. We still have challenging work to do but I miss the rhythms of home.
While here, I continue to explore the city. My first free day, I went to the Summer Palace. It is 20 subway stops from where I stay and took almost an hour to get there.
The property is huge like most everything else here. It covers an area of 2.9 square kilometers (720 acres), most of which are bodies of water. It is kept immaculately groomed and landscaped. I walked for five hours straight that day, up and down steep stairs and around the lake.
I enjoyed …
The walk.
Being out in the fresh air on a cool day.
The rich vegetation of the gardens.
The earthy smell of the pine trees.
Seeing families camping on the grounds, having picnics and taking naps.
Watching ladies dancing under gazebos.
Listening to an old man playing his flute by the lake.
Along the corridor of the Studio of the Jade River (Yuhe Zhai), there was a series of stone carvings. According to the placard, the original scenes were painted on woven silk by the painter Cheng Qi during the Yuan Dynasty (mid-1700s). The scenes portray men farming and women weaving in ancient China. I selected the ones showing women’s work.
The stone carvings were framed and the bright day cast reflections on the glass.
It was a beautiful day but there is still no place like home.
Agujas 
I particularly love the looms. I live in a 170 year old weavers cottage and my bedroom is where the looms would have been. The ones on your carvings look pretty similar to me.
Your cottage sounds amazing!
It needs work but… one day… hopefully…
Astounding! The amount of work, all those individual lines of yarn to keep untangled. The children at the workplace. The multi-tasking. These were not easy jobs. Thank you for photographing this.
I was amazed by the giant looms as well.
Wonderful pictures, especially of the weaving, the reeling of the silk, what an interesting time you seem to be having. Thanks for this!
It was a great find. I was walking along the palace grounds and found the carved stone tablets.
It’s beautiful. Looks and sounds like a nice oasis and escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. Worth the ride!
It was so beautiful. It was also a lovely day. I was kind of sad about being far from home and needed the distraction. Plus I got tons of exercise.
All of it is beautiful but especially the stone carvings 🙂
I loved them! It was a bit challenging getting photos because of the glare. That round shadow is my hat!
It just adds to the feel!
Wow those carvings are so interesting! What a spot. I used to live in China and I often found the first couple of weeks back hard after visiting home. I hope you feel better soon 🙂
Thanks! I hope it passes soon. At least work keeps me busy.