‘ 
For some time we had been straining our eyes for a sight of the city of 
Hsi-an Fu. It seemed difficult to believe the natives, who declared it to be 
close at hand; but when the travellers were within a quarter of a mile of the 
place, suddenly the massive towers and solid walls sprang into view, and the 
capital lay revealed in a large depression. Entering by the East Gate we 
made straight for the Baptist Missionary Hospital, where Dr. and Mrs. 
Jenkins gave us a warm welcome, and entertained us royally. Then a visit 
to the Post Office, to secure any letters that might be there; and Mr. Mullen, 
the Postmaster, insisted on his visitors taking their evening meal with him, an 
invitation which, after months of rough and often badly cooked food, they 
were only too ready to accept. The inn at which accommodation was secured 
turned out to be surprisingly poor, especially when the size and importance of 
the city are remembered. However, paradoxical as it may appear, it seems to 
be the rule in North China that the quarters obtainable vary inversely with 
the size and prosperity of the town. Away in some lonely place, where the 
people hardly know how to secure a living, it is almost invariably possible to 
find roomy and comfortable lodgings; but in a large and populous city such as 
Hsi-an, full of fine residences, large shops, and all signs of considerable 
luxury, the only accommodation procurable is of the very dirtiest and poorest 
nature imaginable. We could, of course, have accepted the hospitality 
generously offered by the Missionaries or the Postmaster, but a short stay only 
being anticipated, it seemed a pity to disturb the routine of their quiet 
households. 
Observations were taken at Hsi-an on the 5th and 6th, and the rate of 
the chronometer-watch determined ; and on the 7th the party left the city and 
reached Lin-t’ung, a place fifty /: distant, where some famous hot-springs 
exist. Quarters were secured in the grounds of the gardens attached to the 
springs, and the exquisite luxury of a_hot mineral bath was enjoyed. 
The discovery of the springs goes back to a very early date, but the 
building of the present commodious baths is attributed to the famous 
K’ang-hsi (1662-1723). There is no charge for the use of the baths, a small 
tip to the attendant securing privacy in the warmest and cleanest of the series. 
This spacious bath lies under the arch of a large cave, and is capable of 
holding comfortably some fifty or sixty bathers. It is fed from a spring that 
issues directly from the back of the cave, and is divided from a second bath by 
a wide stone platform, pierced by several low arches through which the water 
flows. This second bath lies in the open, but is enclosed by a high wall. 
From here the water is conducted underground to two small private baths, 
41 
