PEKING
693
several large stores, which sell all kinds of foreign goods. The Club House is much larger and more convenient than it was before; there is a Soldiers' Y.M.CA., and a Catholic Church for the Legation Guards, and two hospitals-St. Michael's and the Methodist Episcopal John L. Hopkins Memorial), which are provided with accommoda- tion for both Chinese and European patients. There are several Banks-Rongkong and Shanghai, Russo Chinese, Banque de l'Indo Chine, Banque Industrielle, Banque Etrangères, Chartered Bank, Yokohama Specie, and Deutsch Asiatische-all of which do a flourishing business. The streets are being macadamized, and an Electric Light Company has been organized which will furnish light wherever wanted in the city.
Though Peking preserves its Oriental aspect, and retains most of its old-world features it cannot truthfully be said that the city is falling into decay. Undoubtedly the city walls show the ravages of time, and the monuments of the past betray a lack of attention, but in the city itself there are unmistakable signs of change and of pro- gress. Electric light is almost universal, the main roads are kept in a good state of repair, sanitation is not disregarded, and in innumerable ways there are indications of a fairly healthy vitality. The communal feeling as expressed in Western Countries by municipalities and local governments has not yet developed among the Chinese, but in tsabsence in Peking the Ministry of Interior and the police perform duties which are altogether extraneous to their respective offices, the idea being to make Peking a model city and an example to others throughout the country. The different branches of administration of the metropolitan district have been thoroughly reorganised, and men of modern education appointed t› important posts. The Minister of Interior acts as director of municipal activity, and has under him Mr. Chu Shih Yuan and a staff of departmental secretaries, whose work includes the supervision of the registration of houses, taxation, keeping of records, etc. The chief divisions of municipal work under- taken by the municipal department in the Ministry of Interior are roads and buildings, drainage and surveying; while the police, in addition to their ordinary duties, make themselves responsible for street lighting, public health, registration of births and deaths, fire brigade, and markets. Hitherto, the police have also exercised jurisdiction over certain hospitals, but now the Ministry of Interior has built one insolation hospital, and it is not improbable that in the course of time some authority will be constituted to take over this particular work.
Drainage is receiving considerable attention at present and big works are in progress. Not only are the main drains being put in order, but new ones are being constructed, and, when funds permit, Peking will be as well served in this respect as any modern city. The creeks which encircle the city are being drained, and at Chien Men the river will be built over by extending the railway station, thus removing that which is an eyesore to many.
Since the revolution many changes which would have been unthinkable under the Manchu régime have taken place. A number of gates have been opened, thus facilitat- ing traffic. A beautiful enclosure within the Forbidden City known as the Central Park has also been opened, and residents congregate there in their hundreds and thousands during the summer months. A curio museum containing the Imperial treasures from Jehol and Mukden, has been inaugurated within the Forbidden City and is proving a very popular attraction. In addition, the three Palaces-Taihodien, Chunghodien, and Paohradien are being repaired, while the Tung Hua Men gate, which was destroyed during the revolution of 1911, is being reconstructed. Moreover, a National Library is being erected within the Forbidden City.
In order to link up the various termini, a circular railway is being constructed. This involves the demolition of the curtains of most of the gateways, a proceeding which has provoked considerable adverse comment, but it must be regarded as another sacrifice of the picturesque and historical to the utilitarian. A Grand Trunk Central Station is contemplated, and when this is completed travellers will have little to com- plain of in the matter of convenience.
A Tramway scheme has been drafted for some time, but the privilege of constructing it is a subject of contention, and the project is accordingly delayed. Meantime, a motor-car service is being advocated and may materialise before very long,
In addition to opening all available gates, the authorities have constructed several new streets at vast cost, and are giving access in certain localities which were formerly badly served. Building is proceeding apace, and, now that there is no objection to structures higher than the Imperial Palace, many large edifices are being built throughout the city, but particularly near the Legation Quarter. Peking, it may be added, is exceedingly well policed.