The Red Lantern Hostel welcomes all foreigners!

The Summer Palace is built around a big lake.

You can get paddle boats and cruise around.

The underbelly of a pagoda roof.  Pagodas are all about the roof.  The rest of the structure is just there because they couldn't figure out how to suspend the roof in mid-air.

Summer Palace has everything you need.

This forbidding mountain-top temple was being refurbished, so we couldn't get a close look.

Sarah, random poseur, and Ms. Smart.

Grass grows on the untended roof.  You can betchyerass they'll have this cleaned up by the Olympics.

Mr. Haggart, in Glam-Photo Action.

Mr. Haggart Contemplates his Shot.

The Chinese (and Koreans) have a whole cosmology about what kinda gargoyles, and how many, based on rank, protect the temple roof.

This boat is made entirely of Marble, and has never, I believe, floated.  The Dowager Princess built this instead of a navy.

Pond weeds.

These dudes are guarding the Maosoleum of the waxy carcass of Mao Dze Dung.  South quadrant of Tian-an-men Square.

More Tian-an-men.

People gather every night at Tian-an-men to watch the guard lower the main Chinese flag.