I was a god in the 18th century

Chapter 534 Arrival at the Old Summer Palace

On August 21, the British delegation followed the Qing reception officials and rested along the way. They passed through Beijing, had some tea and snacks, and finally arrived at the Old Summer Palace on the outskirts of Beijing at three o'clock in the afternoon.

Most of the truck fleet that had set out the day before had already arrived, and a small number of them arrived shortly after they did.

In order to have an immersive experience of the "Garden of Gardens" - the Old Summer Palace, Xia Qingdai deliberately returned home early from the hospital that night.

The Old Summer Palace, which covers an area of ​​more than 350 hectares, is probably too big to visit in a day. Xia Qingdai had no chance to go to Beijing in modern times, let alone visit the ruins of the Old Summer Palace. Unexpectedly, she saw the intact Old Summer Palace during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the th century.

However, even though she followed Owen in an invisible manner, she did not enjoy the treatment of visiting the Old Summer Palace.

As soon as this group of British people entered the Old Summer Palace, they were taken to a building by Qing officials who were waiting there to receive them.

The museum is located in a garden with houses, patios, and various flowers and trees. There is also a winding path next to the house, and at the end of it there is a small river. Following the river, there is an artificial island with flowers, trees, and exquisite rockery and rocks, and a summer building in the center.

The Qing officials who received them said that this was a place specifically for receiving foreign delegations, and asked everyone to stay there with peace of mind.

To be honest, Xia Qingdai was very disappointed just by looking at this foreign guesthouse. Although it was clean, it was far worse than Xia Qingdai had imagined. Some places even looked filthy and dilapidated. Compared with other accommodations that the British delegation had come here, it was extremely shabby.

"Is this the Old Summer Palace? My God, this foreign embassy hasn't been repaired for many years." Xia Qingdai followed Owen and pushed open the door of the building. She was stunned by the dust and musty smell inside!
Is this where people live? It must have been six months since it was cleaned. With this musty smell, I'm afraid I'll get pneumonia if I live here!
Xia Qingdai could imagine the extra-territorial treatment that the Qing Dynasty had given to the British along the way. After all, the Chinese people valued face when doing things, and the show had to be grand.

But Xia Qingdai really couldn't have imagined that such a dilapidated place would be provided for the British delegation to live in.

Why is there such a big difference between before and after? Is it because they failed to reach an agreement on etiquette, and are angry that the British refuse to wear Hanfu, so they kowtow three times and bow nine times to show their power?

Macartney tactfully stated that this place was not habitable and they were willing to live in Beijing at their own expense.

The Qing officials laughed and said that they were not deliberately making things difficult for the delegation by arranging them here. In fact, this was indeed the original resting place for foreign envoys, and the room chosen for the British delegation was already a relatively good one.

Anyway, no matter how Macartney protested about his accommodation, the Qing reception officer avoided the question and pretended not to understand. As long as Owen didn't speak, there was a language barrier between the two sides.

Seeing that the house had been cleaned by the servants and the diplomatic corps' gifts had been moved in, Macartney had no choice but to accept it. Guests should follow the will of the host. As a foreign diplomatic corps, they could not have freedom at all. Fortunately, after the house was cleaned, although it still looked simple, it was barely habitable.

Xia Qingdai quietly approached Owen and whispered, "This room smells too musty, it's not good for your health, you should just stay in the RV, I'll get you anything you need."

Owen smelled the faint fragrance coming from his nose, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "Okay."

This time, the RV that Xia Qingdai took down for Owen was a modified trailer. It was made of alloy, which was very different from the wooden Lotus House. But they also had something in common, that is, although it was small, it had everything, and it could be used as a mobile house without any problems.

The Lotus Building was an ancient-style upper-class suite, while the alloy van was a modern star-rated hotel suite. Staunton and Macartney were quite envious when they heard that Owen was going to sleep in his van.

When they came, the Qing Dynasty carriage they were riding in was too bumpy, so in the end, not only them, but also Wang Wenxiong and Qiao Renjie hid in Owen's RV.

After experiencing the luxury and comfort of the RV, looking at my own musty room tonight, I can't help but feel a little jealous.

Of course, if the Qing Dynasty did not arrange them in the most dilapidated foreign embassy in the Old Summer Palace this time, but arranged comfortable Chinese-style luxury rooms for them as in their previous journey, then they would not have envied a small RV.

The RV was parked in the middle of the courtyard of the foreign building, away from the musty rooms. If you only looked at them from the outside, these houses were quite charming.

Soon, the residence was settled. Macartney, Staunton and others were packing their luggage. Xia Qingdai took Owen away and said, "Owen, let's go visit the Old Summer Palace."

Owen wanted to walk around the garden, but the guards around him didn't allow him to do so, saying that the adults had their own arrangements for the tour. The royal gardens were not tourist parks in later generations where you could walk around as you please. Now you have to report and finalize your schedule before you go anywhere.

"Then you should have a good rest. I'll go for a walk by myself first." Xia Qingdai did not force Owen to accompany her. Seeing that she could not convince the Qing guards, she gave up, waved at Owen, and left with her skirt lifted.

Owen watched her leave gracefully, then turned and went into the RV to take out paper and pen to write a travel note.

The invisible Xia Qingdai moved around the Old Summer Palace at will and soon left the foreign embassy area.

The Old Summer Palace was a summer resort built by the emperors of the Qing Dynasty. It was filled with treasures presented as tributes from various countries, so there were guards everywhere.

Every time you move to a new building, you'll see a different scenery, which is very different from the scenery of other places in the Qing Dynasty you've visited along the way.

The islands, ponds, flowers, trees, pavilions, terraces, winding paths and secluded places in the garden are too numerous to mention. The complex and exquisite layout of the garden, with its clever use of loops, hiding before revealing, and changing scenery as you move, is full of a sense of supernatural craftsmanship that is beyond human ability.

Along the way, Xia Qingdai saw gardens that were grand yet graceful, solemn yet elegant. Walking in them, she could not help but recall a line from a poem: "Mountains and rivers are so dense that you may think there is no way out, but when you turn around, you see another village." You may feel that the road has come to an end, but in fact, when you turn around, you will see another wonderful scene.

That is to say, Xia Qingdai has never been to the capital in modern times, nor has she visited the ruins of the Old Summer Palace. Otherwise, looking at the magnificent buildings in front of her, and thinking about the ruins in the ruins, she would probably be so angry that she would use a hammer to flatten all those British guys.

"The ancient emperors really knew how to enjoy themselves. Here, they live in a new room every day. I'm afraid it will take them two or three years to live in them all!" Xia Qingdai muttered to herself.

Because of the regional restrictions of the wild map, she had not yet visited the entire Old Summer Palace, and what she saw now was already shocking.

In addition to the fixed buildings and the dazzling array of flowers, plants, trees and stones, there are also countless exquisite and advanced items such as the decorative eight-tone hour clock, floor fans made of peacock feathers, globes, armillary spheres, refracting mirrors, planetariums, barometers, and Frasu's celestial motion meter, not to mention porcelain, porcelain statues, jewelry decorations, and so on.

No wonder Macartney sighed in his travel notes after returning, "I am afraid that there is no other place on the earth that can compare with the palace of the Old Summer Palace."