Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-08-01
SIGHTS IN PEKIN
THE WONDERFUL CITY
A. c. Baker Tells About the MANY In.
teresting Sights i'm Pekin,
China.
MOST INTERESTING CITY
ON THE GLOBE
Visited the Forbidden City Built in
141O, Which up to 1908 No
White Man Had Ever
Entered.
Continued from first page)

'lollSu udu never pcloIS ILLS bOAeI
revolution been visited by Cauca-
lsian.
On our ride to the summer palace
We passed out through the gates and
ride of about twelve miles brought
us to be wonderful location. Before
the English and French took Pekin
in 1860, they destroyed the old sum-
mer palace and carried away to their
own countries many of the treasures
which one sees in their museums in
Paris aid London. The present sum
mer palace was started by the EN-
press dowager in 1860 with funds
that were appropriated to build a
navy At this time $40, 100000 were
appropriated and after that all appro-
priations for the navy were used in
building the surroundings of this
place.
Arriving at the entrance we secur-
ed tickets which are on sale there and
walking about mile on marble walks
with a carved marble rail, along a
beautiful artificial lake, this lake per-
haps mile wide in the center, an ar
tificial island with a beautiful mar
BILE bridge with seventeen arches
spanning the lake to the island. On
the island a beautiful palace. 1t was
in this palace the emperor was con-
fined by the dowager empress who
was his aunt up to the time he died,
a date we do not know, but it was
announced he died the day before his
aunt, but no doubt this was not true,
but that he was poisoned some time
before. 1t was from the reforms
that this emperor tried to introduce
that brought about the boxer revolu-
ton.
Kuong Hsu was the nephew of the
queen dowager. In 1898 he was plac-
ed on the throne; the reforms were
so rank Of European civilization that
it incensed the dowager empress and
the Empress deposed him and confin
ed him on this island before mention
ed.
Walking along this lake we are un-
der roof beautifully decorated with
different views Of the lake, the work
done by most noted painters. This
roof is about thres-fourths of a mile
long, on either side were marble
blocks on which were stood at the
time it was occupied jardaniers fill
ed with towering plants. The palace
itself like all other Chinese buildings
| is a succession of one stored halls,
built around central courts. These
halls are raised upon marble terraces
and approached by broad steps.
Their curling roofs are tiled with
imperial yellow or bright green, on
each corner are perhaps half dozen
curious little devils which our guide
explained was to keep off all evil.
The paintings, much of it in vermil-
lion, Chinese dragons appearing ev-
erywhere present an interesting pic
ture of Chinese character.
n the lake is the only appearance
of navy which was built from the
appropriations for that purpose. Here
is a marble boat 125 feet long and 26
wide, built on a solid foundation in
the lake. 1t has two decks and on
the upper deck we ate our lunch
which we had brought from the city.
1t was from the misuse of the many
appropriations made for navy and
used here that caused the failure of
the Chinese in the japanese war in
1896. Their navy having rotted to
that extent that when they were fir
ed on their rotten ships easily became
the prey of the japanese and after
sinking them they levied an indem-
nifty of 20,000,000 tael or about $780,
600, 900 of our money and it was with
this that the Japanese were able to
commence the war with Russia that
brought them recognition as a first
class power. Had the funds used
around this lake been placed where
the Chinese people supposed they
were, the Chinese would have driven
the Japanese from the seas and they
would have been rated third class
power.
The summer palace is called the
palace of 10000 ages; the wall sur
rounding this is about four miles
long and twenty-five feet high Of
broken asher, very fine work.
From the summer palace we took
rickshas to the jade fountain about
three miles, but excepting seeing a
beautiful marble pagoda from a dis
lance, we could not get in as a dis
pute between the government and
the keeper had closed it.
Returning to our autos we are
soon in the city and first visit the