El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-02-03
Pekin, the Capital of China
Imposing Tartar Wall Is the First
to Hold Attention of
visitors.

y metropolis the most enhancing city ID
the Far East, and one Of the worlds
really wonderful cities. Pekin is TO
/ the orient what Rome is to Europe.
Wipe out ali Of China and Pekin would
/ still be Pekin. But any act of God or
! man dealt to rae Pekin would be a
I blow on China's very heart. If one had
to choose between a visit TO Pel1in.
! courslng some areoplane route which
/ gave no glimpse of the land below, and
I an extended tour OF the rest of the
| country, with Pekin, left out, 1t will
be the wise yoyager who speeds his
! course straight to the basin Of the
| Pei-hO river where the hands Of Chin
| csc Tartars, MOngOlS and Manchus
( have nodded the eternal city Of the
] celestial empire
Two Routes to City.
Pekin, meaning north court, is
/ reached by two main routes A trip
] FrancO-Belgian concern, from the last
! named city to the capital gives a good
] general view Of the Chinese interior.
I The other way is to travel three days
I by boat from Shanghai to TIentsin and
/ then go so miles on the Pekin-TientsiQ
/ railway. Tientsin itself is the cleanest,
most healthful city in China, having
/ wide streets, unique foreign cOncas-
/ siOns and two comfortable hotels Sew
| eral hundred foreigners live there The
/ climate is about like that Of Ohio.
Wall 500 Years Old.
First to hold the attention OF visl-
tors TO China's capital is the imposing
Tartar wall along which the railway
runs for about a mile It is 500 years
old and is a mighty pile of large, even
gray stones over four miles long and
three miles wide. It is so feet high, so
feet thick at the base and 50 feet wide
at the top. Massive gates topped by
gaudy pagOda-like structure pierce the
wall at several points The water gate
and the Chien-men gate are of special
interest. Through the former tourists
60 into the foreign legation quarter.
which is backed up against the big
wall for safety's sake. The latter is
about One-half mile away and Just to
the left Of it on the wall perches an
American field artillery battery. The
position commands the clamOrOus
Chinese city on the outside, and FOUR
boys" have held IL ever since the Boxer
seige in 1900. An interminable tide Of
jabbering pedestrians and noisy,
springless carts bang over the stones
through this gate from morning TO
night.
Walls Around Legations.
The legation area is surrounded on
three sides by its own wall, from u 70
20 feet high. Patroling Of the three
sides is apportioned among the British.
French, Italians, Germans, Americans,
japanese and Russians Inside this ir
regular square each legation is sur
rounded by its own wall The crUdely
written words, Lest We Forget" on
the street side Of the British COM
pound are a grim reminder of a bloody
stand taken at that point by foreigners,
troops and volunteers alike, against a
horde Of Boxers who swarmed around
with bullets and burning brands from
June 20 to August a.
joys of Tourists.
The usual joys OF tourists are the
Temple Of Heaven and Temple of Ag-
riculture, the Drum and Bell towers,
the Lama temple, Temple of the sun in
the eastern part of the city outside the /
Tartar wall, Temple Of the Moon in
the west, Temple Of the Earth in the
north, the Imperial city in general |
Hataman street, the legations, the I'm
perial park and Prospect hill. Short |
out Of town trips include the palace o. /
the Yuchuan Shan about two miles
beyond the Summer palace, the Hsiling J
or Western tombs, the imperial hot /
springs and the Ming tOmbs, and Nan |
kOw pass and the great wall Of China |
The section Of the great wall at 1
NankoW pass is comparatively new, be- !
ing only about 500 years old The end !
gulf Of Pechili at Shanhaizwan. mark /
ing the boundary between China and /
Manchudia, is much more ancient
The Forbidden City.
OF course, the Forbidden City, where I
Manchu royalty diSpOrted itself, is the /
most mysterious Of all Pekins sights, /
but entrance there is barred, even in /
these days Of the republic. According |
to reports, the various buildings. in |
Guiding even the royal palace itself, 4
are being looted most outrageously By /
the eunuchS, while the deDOSed baby /
emperor, Pu Vi, is left alone with his /
helpless mother and one or two faith /
ful old women. The palace was also 4
sacked in a ruthless and disgracefuI /
manner by foreign troops and native
Chinese in 1905
Relics of the Ages.
The Temple Of Heaven. altar OF
Heaven and Temple Of Agriculture are
found together after a long ride
through the SatiVe Chinese or southern !
city. They stand in a straight row,
acres OF a court yard which red walls I
surround, in their turn forming little I
more than a string in comparison with
the immense green fields stretching
away on all sides. These relics Of a
bygone age leave a deeper impression 1
on the minds Of occidental visitors !
than all other Chinese temples OF
shrines. The Altar Of Heaven and the
Temple Of Heaven, cOnsecrated cen
turtles ago to worship Of Deity, typify /
the heights of Chinese thought. Inside
the blue domed Temple If Heaven there
Is only the simple altar before which
the emperor kRelt- Red pillars at the
sides hold up the roof and around the
walls are delicately carved sandalwOcd
screens, each representing the spirit Of
q departed emperor.
The Altar of Heaven.
The Altar Of Heaven stands out in
the open with only Gods blue sky for
a roof It is a circular pile Of white
marble. now yellOWed and cracked by
age, with carved dragons on many a
square 1t is built in mines and multi !
plies Of mines. In the ascent to the
top there are three flights of marble
stairs, of nine steps each. and there
are nine of these stairways, all con- /
Terging toward the center of the top. | /
But before the marble slab which
marks the exact center is reached,
-here intervenes between it and the
5tairways a series of tagging in cir
sular formation, all in groups of nine, /
80 that the narrOWest circle embracing
he central stone is Of just nine blocks. S
Here the emperor was wont to lift 7
lis gaze unto God in the heavens and
lsk atonement of the sins of his four {
hundred millions of subjects. The 7
'pirlt Of this homage is still felt by
he visitor even though the sacred 4
grounds are deserted.
Temples in Ruins.
80 many Of Pekin's finest palaces I
M temples are in ruins, that
thoughtful visitor falls to wondering
Why an effort is not made to preserve
mem The daring exploits, art, hterR-