Beijing Summer Palace
May 19th 2010 As is the way with hostels, I bumped into two other backpackers and joined forces for the day. My companions were French, so I got some language practice in as well (yes, I know, I'm a geek).
The Emperor's summer residence was entirely destroyed by Anglo-French troops in the 1890s, so what is there now has been reconstructed since. And they have done an excellent job.
The palace complex is
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