We had left our chairs at a small place, said to be a Taoist temple, and had also passed the ruins of another temple, showing the isolated places selected by the early fathers for their centres of worship. After roaming about, we returned to the first temple, and around an improvised table, in plain view of the altar, we were served with a substantial luncheon brought from the hotel. Our return trip was over a different route, in order to secure a finer view of the Wall, some ruined towers, and parapets.
Later, we passed through two imposing gateways, and noted the great thickness of the Wall which, broken off, showed a brick exterior filled with earth. The way through the native town assured us of the usual Chinese life and bazars, Shanhaikwan having only a small European population. It was the scene of much activity during the Boxer Rebellion, and the regiments of several nations had posts or forts there, the English and Japanese even now continuing to maintain a small body-guard. In the afternoon we took a ride in a diminutive horse-car on a narrow-gauge road to the sea, four miles distant, where we found a sandy beach and bathhouses. This is a favorite resort for the Summer guests of the Shanhaikwan Hotel. Peitaho, which is situated back of Shanhaikwan in the mountains, has a large Summer colony from Peking and Tientsin, many of whom own their homes. At Shanhaikwan we had the pleasure of meeting Judge and Mrs. Charles Smith of Manila, and listened to many interesting experiences connected with life in the Philippines. Shanhaikwan is on the border between China and Manchuria.
We had been in Manchuria all day with an uninteresting landscape as regards variety,—plains, a few trees, and a little verdure stretched far away. Much of the land, however, was tilled, it being Springtime in this far-away country; and an occasional group of trees indicated what time and irrigation may accomplish in the way of agricultural results. At every station armed soldiers were on guard. Various theories were advanced to account for this; one said that brigands infested the country; another claimed that there might be danger of destruction to the track, this being the Southern Japanese-Manchurian Railway, which was running through an alien country. The right to this road and a strip of land each side of the track was secured by Japan either by treaty or by lease from China at the close of the Russian-Japanese war. Chan Chow was the largest station passed. Hsin Min was the scene of a conflict between the Russians and Japanese, and at the present time soldiers are still stationed there.
Mukden, May 30th: Our next point to be visited was Mukden. The trip was not in our original itinerary, and we had some difficulty in securing it, as the Director felt that we could not obtain good hotel accommodations. We all, however, promised to accept uncomplainingly any condition which the situation offered. Nevertheless, we felt a little anxious about the result, as we were the first tourist party to invade Mukden, the capital of Manchuria, and also the old capital when it was an independent country and not, as now, a province.
At the King-jo Hotel, under Japanese management, we found six rooms furnished in supposed European style; these opened on upper and lower galleries and were comfortable. They really formed an annex in order to entice stray European guests. The entire household was Japanese, without any knowledge of the English language, so pantomime became our means of communication, and there were many amusing mistakes made on both sides. The utmost good-humor prevailed, however, and the atmosphere of the place was altogether pleasant.
The morning following our arrival, we rode in jinrikishas to the tomb of a Ming emperor. There are two of these tombs located at Mukden. We visited only one; it is four miles from the city, and beautifully located in a parklike enclosure. We entered at the side, through a long avenue of trees, the front entrance never being opened; there were two tall columns with grotesque figures of animals on top; then a lion on each side, seated on heavy pedestals. A three-arched pailow had a very massive carved cornice and entablature; on the cornice and on each division of the arch were seated immense carved lions; similar ones were also on the reverse side of the arch and on the ends, making ten in all, and adding to the impressiveness of the whole.
We now entered the sacred avenue, lined on each side with ten large stone animals. The path was much shorter than that visited in Nankow, and the carving of the animals was less perfect. The avenue ended with a gateway of three arches, which we did not pass through, but which contained a memorial tablet mounted on a huge tortoise; beyond this there was a long oblong building with an effective terrace roof; doors were placed in each corner of the walled enclosure. At the back rose an immense mound which covers the tomb. From a high tower overlooking the mound, we had a view of the entire enclosure.
