Greetings from Beijing,

I spent the morning at Zhongshan Park, west of the Forbidden City. This is my childhood playground where my dad took me ice skating in the winter.

There are magnificent cypresses here as old as the Imperial Palace. The corner tower, the city wall, and the moat of the Forbidden City still render the flavor of the old dynasties along the northern border.

A classical Chinese garden with bamboo covers the lush ground. A traditional courtyard contains what Chinese have treasured for centuries–orchids, paintings and Taihu rocks, all are delightful surprises for my eager return.

[slideshow_deploy id=’1166′]
Charlotte Xu Dewar
Founder of China Advocates