Summer Palace - conclusion

We saw people practicing their calligraphy with water on the walkway (pic. 1). The view of the lake was stunning from many perspectives (pic. 2). The entrance courtyard had this wonderful statue (pic. 3). I found I really like the guardian lion statues that we have seen throughout Asia. This one seems to be more dragon-like. After our disappointing tour we exited through the entrance.

Later I gave the guide some feedback that it would have been helpful to have seen the map and had a site overview. She countered with the ease of going against the flow. I mentioned that she could provide an overview with printed material and she agreed that it was good feedback to help her improve her service.

As I'm writing this I'm looking up info on the internet and finding out that we in fact had a very poor tour. There are many interesting tidbits that could have been imparted. For example the dragon in pic. 3 is hollow and incense was burned inside which made the dragon smoke providing great atmosphere.