Peking

New Developments.-.

Few cities are richer in interest and romance than Peking. In recent years it has been much modern ised and "cleaned up" but it retains most of its historic buildings and ancient features and the new developments have not so far involved the wholesale clearances that have been the fate of some westernised cities of the Orient. This is in part due to the truly imperial lines on which it was designed by Kublai Khan. The spacious, rectangular ground-plan which he adopted was main tained by the later Ming and Manchu builders and lends itself to modern development. Essentially it consists of two main "cities," the northern or "Tartar City" in the form of a square with walls nearly 15 miles in length, and the southern or "Chi nese" city in the form of an oblong with walls 14 miles in length, including 4 miles of the south wall of the Tartar city. Within the Tartar city is the Imperial City, also in the form of a square and with red-plastered walls, six and a half miles in length, and within that again the Inner or Forbidden City, with walls two and a quarter miles long, plastered with a violet coloured mortar, whence comes the popular name of the Purple City. Extending in an irregular chain from the north wall of the Tartar city to the south wall of the Imperial City are seven artificial lakes supplied from a moat outside the Walls, which is itself fed by a canal from the Jade Fountain in the "Western Hills" six miles north-west of Peking. This also feeds the famous lake round the "Summer Palace" at the foot of the Western Hills. Grouped around the three most southerly of the seven lakes in the heart of the Impe rial city is a great series of imperial palaces, gardens and temples, and here until the recent change of capital, was the official resi dence of the President of the Chinese Republic.

Government Buildings.—The Government offices, built in modern European style, line the broad Imperial roadway which leads from the Forbidden City through the Ch'ien Men, the main gateway to the Chinese city, and so to the spacious grounds of the Temple of Heaven and Altar of Agriculture, which were the scene of the great ceremonial acts of sacrifice and supplication performed by the Emperor. In close proximity to the Government offices is the large Legation Quarter, adjacent to the Tartar City's south wall, from which cannon fired on the British Legation dur ing the Boxer siege of 1900. By the terms of the subsequent Protocol the portion of the wall overlooking the Legation was placed under their control and patrolled by their guards. In

the north-east corner of the Tatar city stand close together some of the most historic buildings in China, including the Lama Temple, the Hall of Classics and the simple but beautiful Temple of Confucius. The northern portion of the Chinese city is essen tially the commercial quarter and the most congested part of Peking and is in close proximity to the terminus of the Peking H a n k o w and Peking-Mukden Railways just outside the Ch'ien Men. In great contrast, much of the southern part of the south city is agricultural land and the grounds of the Temple of Heaven and Altar of agriculture take up a considerable space, which is some times used for public meetings.

The government of the city has been extremely complex, vari ous functions having been exer cised by the National Govern ment, the Provincial Government, the Military Guard, the Munici pal Council and the Police Board. For about three centuries Peking has been the centre of a special Metropolitan District, including all territory within 75 miles of the city. This is under a Governor who in recent times has introduced many improvements in the surrounding districts, including the construction of macadamized roads. Within the city itself most of the official work is carried on by the Municipal Council and the Police Board. The latter is invested with many responsibilities and Peking has been called "the best policed city in the Orient." Apart from ordinary police functions, the Board is in charge of the fire and street-cleaning departments, the Census Bureau and of many public charitable in stitutions. The expenses of the Police Board have been mainly borne by the National Government and, with the removal of its headquarters to Nanking, the whole administration of the city is likely to be changed. Among the modern improvements of Peking may be noticed the metalling of the chief streets, the introduction of tramways and the installation of water, sewage and electric light systems.

The population of the city was estimated at

1,181,400 in 1923 but the presence of large bodies of troops has abnormally swollen its numbers for several years past. The removal of the seat of government has already caused considerable distress among the merchant class and will probably lead to a decrease of population, at any rate temporarily. Peking must, however, remain the regional capital of North China. Pop. (1931), 1,297,718.