A Visit to the Hall of Happiness in Longevity at the Summer Palace, Beijing

On January 21, 1946 my father was touring the Summer Palace outside Beijing. One of the places he visited was the Ceremonial Hall, or the Hall of Happiness in Longevity. It is said that this is the largest residential quarters in the Summer Palace. Dowager Empress Cixi would reside here from the fourth lunar month until the start of the tenth lunar month. Most of her final years of life were here. 

When my father visited this place it was during winter. When spring blossoms would emerge it must have been quite a sight. Yulan magnolia trees dot the area. 

Whether it was spring, summer, autumn or winter, the Summer Palace must have been spellbinding to my father and his fellow China Marines from the USA. The buildings here, including the Hall of Happiness in Longevity, exhibit the ostentatious pageantry of classical Chinese architecture. Such splendorous displays were also found in the surrounding gardens. It was no wonder that throughout his life his fondness of Asian gardens influenced his own upon returning home to Greenwich.