(Boating on Kunmin Lake)

We are now going to enjoy the lakeside scenery from a pleasure boat. As a main part of the Summer Palace, Kunming Lake covers an area of 220 hectares, or three fourths of the combined space of this summer resort. This natural lake is more than 3500 years old.

This lake was originally called Wengshan Lake. In 1749 Emperor Qianlong ordered the construction of Qingyi Garden, the predecessor of the Summer Palace. Involving nearly 10,000 laborers, the lake was expanded and turned into a peach-shaped reservoir, the first of its kind for Beijing.

From 1990 to 1991, the Beijing Municipal Government ordered the first dredging of the lake in 240 years. Involving 200,000 men and hundreds of dredgers and other tools, a total of 625,600 cubic meters of sludge was dredged and 205 bombs dropped by the Japanese during the Anti-Japanese War were removed.

The summer palace set a precedent for sightseeing by boat. There used to be a large imperial flotilla, of which the "Kunming Merry Dragon" was the most famous. It was destroyed by the Anglo-French allied forces in 1860. To make the tour of the Summer Palace a more pleasant one, a large pleasure boat "Tai He" (Supreme Harmony )was built. This double –decked boat is 37.09 meters long,8,59 meters wide and 10.49 meters high. It can travel at a speed of 9 kilometer per hour. Small pleasure boats are also available to tourist.

Another major spot of interest on the Western causeway is Jingming (Bright View ) Hall. Both its front and rear face the lake. This structure also features three two- storeyed halls of varying heights.

Our tour is drawing to a close as we approach the shore. Today we only visited the major scenic areas of the Summer Palace. I have left other spot of interest for your next visit.

I will show you out through the East Gate. I hope you enjoyed today's tour. Thank you. Good-bye and good luck.