There was a time when the German Embassy School in Beijing was able to rent Kunming Lake in the famous Summer Palace for the school’s own ice festival. That was in the mid-1980s. China was still poor and there were not many tourists. The Beijing park authorities were grateful for any Western currency that could be used to maintain the former imperial grounds. Today, this is almost unimaginable. Even in freezing temperatures, the Summer Palace is one of the most popular destinations in the capital. flee