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. The Tartar City is sixteen miles in
circumference, surrounded by a wall sixty feet thick at the
bottom, fifty feet thick at the top and forty feet high, with six
feet of balustrade on the outside, beautifully crenelated and
loopholed, and in a good state of preservation. The streets are
sixty feet wide,--or even more in places,--well macadamized, and
lit with electric light. The chief mode of conveyance is the
'ricksha, though carriages may be hired by the week, day or hour
at various livery stables in proximity to the hotels, which, by
the way, furnish as good accommodation to their guests as the
hotels of other Oriental cities.
In the centre of the Tartar City is the Imperial City, eight
miles in circumference, encircled by a wall six feet thick and
fifteen feet high, pierced by four gates at the points of the
compass; and in the centre of this again is the Forbidden City,
occupying less than half a square mile, the home of the court.
Fairs are held, at various temples, fourteen days of every month,
distributed in such a way as to bring them almost on alternate
days, while at certain times there are two fairs on the same day.
It is a mistake to suppose that the Chinese women in the capital
are very much secluded. They may be seen on the streets at almost
any time, while the temple courts and adjacent streets, on fair
days, are crowded with women and girls, dressed in the most
gorgeous colours, their hair decorated with all kinds of
artificial flowers, followed by little boys and girls as gaily
dressed as themselves
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