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Northwest of Beijing is the 700 acre imperial estate call The Summer Palace. Possibly
the most famous single feature of the palace grounds is the Marble Boat. The double
decker stone structure sits at the edge of Kunming Lake and it does not float. It
was built during the Qing Dynasty by the Empress Dowager Cixi. The Empress used the
boat for entertaining. Interestingly, the funds to build the Marble Boat and much
of the palace are said to have been siphoned from money appropriated for the imperial
navy. |
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