The bazars and shopping streets in Peking were interesting, many of the buildings rising four stories in height, and having the same long narrow decorated signs that I described in Canton. At intervals along the way very high poles are erected, and on these are placed different kinds of signs, giving these streets a brilliant appearance. The usual throng of dealers and of diverse nationalities are represented, resulting in a great deal of bustle and activity, a great deal of noise and dirt. The crowds around some of the gateways included rows of vehicles and sometimes a group of camels; but the most individual of all conveyances is the Peking cart; indeed, I have never seen any inanimate object that wore so individual an air, and when viewed in large numbers, their appearance is most peculiar. This cart is two-wheeled, with a roof, and with sides and back enclosed. One horse is used. In the front opening sits the driver, some one usually at his side, while behind him, far in the back, may be seen the faces of the occupants peering out. Many of the carts used by the ordinary people have no windows or openings on the side; others have windows covered with a kind of netting which admits some air.
The Llama Temple is considered to be one of the most important places to visit; it is in the eastern quarter of the Tartar City. The rule has been that just as soon as an emperor ascends the throne, the palace that he had previously occupied shall be changed into a temple. Such was the origin of the Llama Temple, once presided over by three thousand Mongol Llamas, and, at the head of them, a living Buddha. The temple has six parts: first the outside gate, then the entrance gate, then a large hall of very imposing proportions, in front of this a tablet upon which is inscribed the history of Llamaism. Before this tablet rests a bronze incense burner eight feet high, and on the southwest wall of the temple hangs a picture of the universe, upheld by the four-clawed feet of a huge sea-monster with three eyes. There are also three lofty pavilions. Beautiful silken rugs used to be laid on the floor of the impressive hall, and on the walls were very fine hangings. Many precious articles were carried away in 1900, at the time of the Boxer trouble, and some may still be hidden.
There is a colossal Buddha here of very evil countenance, towering three stories, and said to be seventy feet high. To those versed in Buddhist lore, these buildings are full of interest; it is only within a few years that the place has been open to the public. The Llama monks present a very impressive appearance at their evening service, with their long gowns crossed over, and their high caps like ancient Roman casques.
In construction, the Confucian Temple, near by, is similar to all Confucian temples throughout China; the hall is eighty-four feet long and the teakwood pillars forty feet high. In front there is a marble terrace, twenty-eight yards long and fifteen feet wide, reached on three sides by seventeen steps. The inscription on the Confucius tablet, written in Chinese and Manchu dialects, says: "The tablet of the soul of the most holy ancestral teacher, Confucius." Other tablets to noted teachers hang on either side. There are rows of cypresses in front of the hall said to have been planted one thousand years ago; and on each side of the court are buildings containing tablets to over one hundred celebrated scholars. A temple court extends in front, with six monuments which record foreign conquests by emperors. In the court of the Triennial Examinations there is a stone tablet to commemorate each session, on which are engraved the names and homes of all students who receive the title of Doctor of Literature.