'The Nanhal and Chunghai (South Sea and Central Sea). form one separate park by themselves. Their waters, however, actually connect with those of the' North Sea through the famous Imperial Canal Bridge, a Jong marble bridge that separates the two lakes, from where one obtains one of the most beautiful views in Peiping. The South Lake, though less picturesque than the North Lake has more of immediate historical Interest. The south entrance brings us into touch with the
Emperor Chien Long. For the pres love a the great Manchu This lady the fame of whose beauty had come to the cars of the Emperor was the widow of a rebel Mahomedan chiet-{ain and brought back to Peking by one of the victorious Manchu generals. She refused however to have anything to do with the Emperor and committed sulelde, The island on the north side of the lake, is the notorious Yingta, where the unfortunate Emperor Kuang Hsu was interned after the coup eat in 1898, while a huge complex of elaborate buildings on the west bank were the palaces used by the Empress-Dowager herself on the occasions when she had to reside in Peking in the summer months. These latter buildings are not usually open to view by the general public, a8 they are metines still used by local officials as their residence or Places for official receptions, '"Vassal" Delegates Received To the north in the Chunghal, 1s another famous building, the Tae kuang ko (Hall of Imperial Splendour) where the rst audiences to foreign envoys were given In the reigns of Tung Chih and Kuang Hsi. 'This building' in which representa. tives of Vassal States were received was considered the most sullabl place to give audience to the envoys the "foreign barbarians." There was much heart-burning over this question and much ink' was. spilt over it, but it was not tilt after 1000 that the foreign envoys were received In the Forbidden City itself.
Just orth of the Tzukuangko, in this park, is a more modern institation which has also caused a considerable amount of heart-burning and dispute just recently. I refer to the modern swimming pool where the younger members of both sexes were wont to disport themselves freely, luntit latterly, when the highly moral and pure-minded authorities suddenly discovered that mixed bathing was 2 highly immoral proceeding and issued orders forbidding it. This ban has awakened much indignation, though according to all accounts' nobody seems to have taken much notice of it and mixed bathing still continues.
'A park that runs the Central Park very close in popularity and one that Jo very much more picturesque, is the Pei Hai (Northern Lake This park is of very anclant origin going back for at least seven centuries. Marco Polo saw it and went into raptures about its beauties, But all through the subsequent centuries it remained a strictly private park of Cmwese police throughout the country are to launch a campaign also $100,000 1o purchase an aero~ plane "to be presented to General Chiang Kal-shek, president of the Executive Yuan and chairman of tte Military Affairs Commission, on the occasion of his 50th 08 Oct. 29.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.