ng is a
magnificent one, and contains many curious relics of the various
dynasties, some of them a thousand years old. The ceiling is
especially gorgeous, and the tops of the interior walls are ornamented
with wooden boards bearing the names of the successive emperors in
raised gilt characters. As soon as an emperor ascends the throne he at
once adds his name to the list.

The Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Earth are also among the
curiosities of Pekin. The former stands in an enclosed space a mile
square, and has a great central pavilion, with a blue roof, and a gilt
top that shines in the afternoon sun like the dome of St. Isaac's
church at St. Petersburg. The enclosed space includes a park,
beautifully laid out with avenues of trees and with regular, well
paved walks. In the park are some small buildings where the priests
live, that is to say, they are small compared with the main structure,
though they are really fine edifices. The great pavilion is on a high
causeway, and has flights of steps leading up to it from different
directions. The pavilion is three stories high, the eaves of each
story projecting very far and covered with blue enameled tiles. An
enormous gilt ball crowns the whole, and around the building there is
a bewildering array of arches and columns, with promenades and steps
of white marble, evincing great skill and care in their construction.
Unfortunately, the government is not taking good care of the temple,
and the grass is growing in many places in the crevices of the
pavements.

The Temple of Earth is where the emperor goes annually to witness the
ceremony of opening the planting season, and to inaugurate it by
ploughing the first furrow. The ceremony is an imposing one, and never
fails to draw a large assemblage.

One of the most interesting objects in the vicinity of Pekin previous
to 1860 was "Yuen-ming Yuen," or the summer palace of the emperor,
Kien Loong. It was about eight miles northwest of the city, and bore
the relation to Pekin that Versailles does to Paris. I say _was_,
because it was ravaged by the English and French forces in their
advance upon the Chinese capital, and all the largest and best of the
buildings were burned. The country was hilly, and advantage was taken
of this fact, so that the park presented every variety of hill, dale,
woodland, lawn, garden, and meadow, interspersed with canals, pools,
rivulets, and lakes, with their banks in imitation of nature. The p