Chap. XXI. VIEWS FROM THE OBSERVATORY. 355 
in the centre of the Tartar city, and is about one- 
third of its width from east to west, and one-half 
of its length from north to south. Here reside 
the Emperor and the ladies of the court ; the 
eunuchs in waiting, who amounted in Father 
Ripa’s time to six thousand ; and the family of the 
Emperor, some of whom have, when of age, 
separate establishments. This is the only part 
of Peking which foreigners are not allowed to 
visit. 
The Chinese city is situated on the south side 
of the Tartar one. It is of a different form, being 
broader from east to west than from north to south. 
From the east to the west wall the distance is about 
four miles, while from the north to the south it is 
only about two miles, or perhaps rather less. It 
has seven gates, in addition to three which lead 
through the wall dividing it from the Tartar city, 
so that, taking the two cities together, the number 
of gates is sixteen in all. 
We lingered long on the top of the Observatory, 
and certainly the view we had was no common 
one, and was well worth coming a long way to 
enjoy. This view was bounded on the west and 
north by a range of mountains of considerable 
height, while on the south and east lay the vast 
plain through which I had been travelling for 
three days, and in which, as far as the eye could 
reach, there was no sign of either mountain or 
hill — like the ocean, it stretched far away to the 
distant horizon. 
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