170 THE ‘GOLDEN SUMMIT’ 
in places with snow and ice. The summit was reached 
at 2.45 P.M., and it was bitterly cold; but this was 
not to be wondered at, for it is elevated 11,100 feet 
above the sea-level. Just before reaching the top the 
road passed through gloomy pine forests, and the views 
down the ravines to the lower spurs were very fine 
when the clouds below admitted. 
The ‘Golden Summit,’ as it is called by the Chinese, 
has once had a magnificent temple erected on it, but 
this is now a mass of ruins, having been destroyed by 
lightning. This temple must have been constructed 
entirely of bronze, as there are a large number of slabs, 
pillars, and pieces of architraves lying about in a con- 
fused mass, all being made of that metal. In the wooden 
temple which has been erected close by, a few of the 
bronze panels have been used by being let into the 
walls and gilded, but all those outside seem to have no 
care bestowed upon them, and are left to perish. All 
these slabs are ornamented with the figure of Buddha, 
as may be seen in the illustration. There is a bronze 
pagoda about fifteen feet high erected on a wooden 
platform close to the edge of probably the highest pre- 
cipice in the world. It is not much out of the perpen- 
dicular, and at least a mile in depth. The edge is 
guarded by rails and chains which no one is allowed 
to touch, but it is easy to see down. In the temple 
