Location: Beijing - Prince Gong's Mansion. Travel notes: Prince Gong's Mansion. Came here for a walk before it closes for winter maintenance starting tomorrow. This was once the mansion of Heshen and Prince Gong Yixin. I've heard before that in Beijing, you should soak in the nobility of the Forbidden City, the elegance of the Summer Palace, the wealth of the Ming Tombs, the fortune of Prince Gong's Mansion, the majesty of the Great Wall, and the popularity of Yonghe Temple. I've visited all except Prince Gong's Mansion until now. It's famous for fortune because in the Miyun Cave within the mansion, there's a stele with the character '福' (fortune) inscribed by Emperor Kangxi himself (implying a paradise of fortune). One Prince Gong's Mansion holds half the history of the Qing Dynasty. Standing in the pavilion at the center of the lake, I imagined the rise and fall stories of this grand mansion in the past. Full of absurd words, a handful of bitter tears. The setting sun shines on the frozen lake surface, reflecting how many springs, summers, autumns, and winters have passed... Before leaving the mansion, I bought a fortune-character souvenir stamp from a vending machine using Alipa…
