Directory_and_Chronicle_1922 — Page 683

PEKING

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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 to any great extent among the Chinese, but, in its absence in Peking, the Ministry of Interior and its subsidiary organ, Direction Generale des Travaux de Ville de Pekin, perform duties in this connection, the idea being to make Peking a model city and an example to others throughout the country. With this end in view the far-famed Examination Hall is now being reconstructed into a model settlement within the met- ropolis. The different branches of administration of the metropolitan district have been thoroughly reorganised, and men of modern education appointed to important posts. The Minister of Interior acts as director of municipal activity, and has under him 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. A large national hospital of modern design and equipment was completed in 1918. It is supported by private subscription. Drainage is receiving considerable attention at present and big works are in progress. Not only have the main drains been 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 have been drained, and at Ch'ien Men the river has been built over by extending the railway station, thus removing that which was 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, while the old Ch'ienmen gate has been demolished--the curtain, however, being preserved-in order to permit of road improvements. The reconstructed gateway has been completed, and the open space on the north side adds to its impressive effect 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 Paohuadien-are being repaired, while the Tung Hua Men gate, which was destroyed during the revolution of 1911, has been reconstructed. Moreover, a National Library is being erected within the Forbidden City.

In order to link up the various termini, a circular railway has been constructed, This involved the demolition of the curtains of most of the gateways, a proceeding which 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 project-which was originally a Sino-French proposal-has been delayed by the suspension of the Banque Industrielle de Chine. The Chinese Foreign Office is now negotiating with the French Government for the purpose of cancelling the initial agreement, and when the project eventually materialises it will be managed by purely Chinese capital. Many of the walls will suffer partial demolition when the line is constructed. A motor car service was initiated in 1920 but, in consequence of a serious accident, was discontinued.

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In addition to opening all available gates, the authorities have constructed several new streets at vast cost, and are giving better access to certain localities which were form- erly badly served. The Imperial City Wall is now pierced in over a dozen places, and three new thoroughfares have been opened, viz., the Nan Ch'ih Tzu, the Nan Fu K'ou, and the Fu Yu Chieh, the last-mentioned providing a well-made road alongside the western wall of the Imperial City. In 1918 the Imperial City wall was breached in front of the British Legation. 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, has a population of 1,375,634 and is exceedingly well policed.

There are now 1,280 registered motor-cars in Peking, motor cycles are numerous and bicycles are to be reckoned in thousands.