Having made quick work of our list of things to see in Beijing, the last day was to be pretty calm. I set out alone in the morning, and first headed to the Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heaven is one that you see a lot in pictures of Beijing, which is mostly why I went. By that point, I was experiencing a little temple fatigue, and found the place wasn't overly amazing. To be sure, it was interesting to see the crowds of people out for a Saturday stroll, including a crowd of senior citizens dancing and others singing karaoke. I found the temple a bit boring, in all honesty, for which I felt somewhat guilty. I didn't linger too long, however, and, after lunch, made my way to the Subway to head to the Summer Palace.
The subway in Beijing (actually run by HK's MTR corporation), is, like the rest of Beijing, a little less clean and a little more crowded than Shanghai and Hong Kong's are (by which I mean crowded outside of rush hour). Beijing is also quite large, and it took a while to get to the Summer Palace. The Palace itself is a large (very large) complex which was the retreat of the royals of Beijing during the hot summer months. The whole area around the palace is being renovated, but the park itself was full of tour groups from around the world. It was quite beautiful,easily one of my favourite places I went to. I stopped and grabbed a second lunch, pot noodle (instant noodles in American English), and enjoyed a moment of peace.
Unfortunately, I underestimated how large Beijing was. After finishing at the Summer Palace, I rushed back to the hostel, we grabbed our bags, and we rushed to the airport, with only minutes before they were to close our gate. Time for our last city: Xi'an.
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