Robs' Blog: incoherencies from an american ex-pat in exotic beijing,
  or: how i learned to stop worrying and love bureaucracy

Photo courtesy of Andreas Schmidt

The story actually starts thousands of years ago, when the Shih Tzu was bred into existence in China. As explained in this article, this noble breed was a companion to royalty, and was found jaunting around the grounds of the Summer Palace.

That all changed with the death of Empress Dowager Tzutsi in 1908, which saw the Shih Tzu vanquished from its royal home, and almost made extinct. Although the breed did ultimately survive, it was never able to return to its rightful place at the Summer Palace... until now.

Towards the beginning of the month, some friends (who will remain nameless for at least the next few paragraphs) and I decided that this grave wrong should be corrected. So, we bundled Leo up, and headed for the palace. The first obstacle was getting through the admittance gate, which actually wasn't that hard... I had Leo tucked into my arms, and the guard didn't seem to notice.

I put him down soon afterward, and that's when he got some attention. A very polite guard tried to explain to me that dogs weren't allowed in the palace ground. I picked Leo up, mumbled and grumbled, and walked around in wide arch, like I didn't understand what he was saying. I made my way past the temple whilst he was laughing at me not getting it.

I kept Leo on my arm for most of the next few hours we spent in the palace grounds. We passed by guards, police officers, and even military personnel, and all were fine with Leo... the main thing seemed to be that I was holding him.

We left the palace with night already upon it. I had Leo on his long leash prancing in front of us. As we crossed through the gate, a guard asked another how a dog could get into the grounds. Mel and I laughed.

So, dear reader, there you have it... the noble Shih Tzu has once again roamed the grounds of the Summer Palace.