We had another full day today. Li picked us up at 7:30 a.m.and we drove out to the Summer Palace which is in the western part of the city. It is actually a huge park area with manmade lake and several halls and pavilions. It is where the Empress Dowager Cixi ruled during the final years of her reign. It was fun crawling around the hills and pathways and discovering the different halls and pavilions. There is also a huge temple there as well. I was a little disappointed in how commercialized the site was however. Many of the buildings had been converted into restaurants and shops -- I'd rather have been able to explore the buildings without having second rate tourist goods shoved down my throat. The bathrooms were the pits at the Summer Palace. (We've discovered how awful the public toilets are in Beijing. Smelly and dirty. NO toilet paper or soap. Very few if any western style toilets available. Yuck!!!) the Summer Palace was really crowded with tons of tourists. We had lunch at a little restaurant near the Palace grounds. It seemed like a place for locals rather than tourists, so that was nice. We wanted something light as we've really been feasting lately so we basically had a meal of steamed dumplings. They were delicious. Then Li dropped us off at the Temple of Heaven. Another huge complex with several buildings relating to the religious beliefs of the early emperors. They used to make sacrificial offerings to the gods to pray for bountiful harvests. The grounds surround the temple and other buildings were immaculately manicured and very tranquil. A welcome break from the throngs at the Summer Palace. Another plus -- clean bathrooms (still no soap or tp, tho)! The buildings were quite remarkable and we took tons of photos -- hope they turn out. A strong wind picked up in the afternoon and blew away the haze that has been choking the city since we arrived, so we finally got to see some blue sky. Tomorrow we head off for Xian via sleeper train. We're both very curious about what that experience will be like.