The emperor's southern belle

Qianlong has been billed as a lady killer, but when he headed to his favorite retreat he had very serious regal duties on his mind

When Emperor Qianlong arrived in Hangzhou for the first time in 1751 at the end of a journey lasting as long as four months, he was already 40, and it heralded the start of a relationship with the city that would play an important role in the second half of his life.

In fact over the next 33 years he would undertake the 1,500-kilometer journey from Beijing six times. These days, when we can be blase even about having breakfast in Beijing and dinner in Berlin the same day, it is easy for us to underestimate Qianlong's undertaking. However, given the logistics and physical rigors of such a journey - he was 73 when he made the last one - it is clear that Hangzhou held a special place for Qianlong, the longest-living - and reigning - emperor of Qing (1644-1911), China's last feudal dynasty.