China part 1, Black Dragon waterfalls and Emperor's Mountain Villa

We had the opportunity, once again, to visit China, as guests of Zixu and his family, this time to witness the marriage of Zixu's sister, but, of course, they made sure that we enjoyed more than just the wedding..



Words cannot do justice to this experience, so this post will be mainly photos.....











Different sights as we hiked along the Black Dragon Waterfall trail.




















After our hike, we ate at a restaurant nearby, that had this lovely little garden filled with statues of comrades who played significant roles in modern Chinese history.









Zixu's family arranged for a driver to take us to the Emporer's Mountain Villa -- and we spent several hours enjoying this seat of government in the mountains away from the oppressive heat of Beijing.




Some places were serene and beautiful.











Others were ancient and beautiful.










It doesn't look cozy, but it is certainly magnificent.












Love the clothes! Although no one now wears the traditional garb of the emperor or scholar!













This place was so huge (the walls surrounded several square miles/kilometers of wooded and grassy grounds filled with occasional buildings -- besides being the summer seat of government this was also the Emperor's hunting lodge and filled with game). I could post endless photos.


This ---->
is a home built for a concubine who was no longer in favor with the Emporer -- it is far away from the main complex of buildings.





The nice thing about a hunting lodge is that there are many gardens, and there are few gardens as magnificent as the garden of a Chinese Emperor.