Evening star., 1893-07-27
CHINESE HOTELS.
How Guests Are Entertained and the Indics
mites He IL Subjected to.

Hotels in China are quite uniform archi-
tecturaiiy. They never differ in point of
cleanliness and other details but they are
almost invariably built in the form of a
quadrangle inclosng a court. says the
Philadelphia Times. The building Is only
one story high In front of the quadrangle
is a space wide enough for wheeled vehicles
to drive in. The front part OF the structure
is occupied by the kitchen and the restau-
rant, IL there is any. Along the sides of the
quadrangle are many small rooms. At the
further end is the swell apartment, in
tended to be occupied by guests of means
and distinction. This apartment consists
invariably of three rooms-a sitting room
in the middle and a bed room on each side.
There is no hotel clerk with a scintilating
diamond in his shirt front, the innkeeper
fulfilling that capacity incidentally to his
other duties.
There are three classes Of hotels in China
To begin with. there are the business inns,
freQuented by commercial travellers. as one
might say. They bear a certain sort Of
analogy to the hostelries in our country
where agents with gripsacks full OF mer-
chandise find accommodation. To these inns
traders go for the purpose of showing and
disposing of their wares. In all OF the
large cities there are provincial inns. each
OF which is kept up for the accommodation
of people from a particular province, as
Canton or Szechuen, receiving only guests
who come from that province. These hotels
mitting letters through the hands Of The
people who enjoy their hospitality The
latter are not legally responsible for the
safe delivery of such mail, but ii is never
theless conveyed TO the intended recipi-
ents with the utmost regularity. In this
manner letters are sent all the way from
PeSing to the border Of Burmah. the jour-
ney requiring four or five months.
In addition to the kinds of inns I have
described there are official hotels where
high officials stop on their way through
the country. These establishments do not
receive tradespeople. The travelling official
often takes the whole hostelry for the ac-
commodation OF himself and his retainers
he occupies the swell apartments in the
rooms along the sides of the quafransle
II he is very elevated parsonage indeed
ne is likely to scorn the inn, preferring to
hire temple. Such religious edifices or
dlnarliy have rooms attached to them in
which comfortable accommodations may
be found. An essential idea OF the Bad
ahist doctrine is hospitality to travellers.
Some of the most ancient Inscriptions
which have been discovered in India Were
made by a native sovereign, who i'm them
conveys instruction as to how to provide
Tor wayfarers., telling what medicines to
give them. and even giving directions as
TO the planting of trees along roads for the
purpose of affording them shade. In Mon
golia there are no inns. but monasteries are
numerous. and they will always accommo-
date a stranger.
AS in France and in other European
countries the inns in China are under T.o-
lice control Each of them keeps q record
Of its guests for the convenience OF the
magistrate of the district. Any suspicious
person is subjected to inspection and the
for. The noise in a Chinese hotel is deafen-
ing. 1t never ceases, day or night. Each
guest yells from his door to the servants
for whatever he wants: the servants shout
back: the cook bawls out names of dishes
as they are ready: the cart drivers wran-
gle; the mules bray and the pigs squeal