A VISIT TO CHINA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19733, 30 December 1926, Page 2

A VISIT TO CHINA

TOURISTS VIEW GREAT WALL 1 The visits to Japan and China have been popularly regarded among the most interesting of the cruise to date by the passengers of the Carinthia. At every port special inland tours have been arranged, so that a great deal has been seen in a short period. However, the stay in China was marked by a visit to the Great Wall, the centuries-old buttress between China and the north over hundreds of miles of almost impassable country. A special train, with four restaurant cars, was requisitioned, and the trip to the north was made in record time. In Peking itself another interesting .experience was a visit to the forbidden city, hitherto closely guarded against foreigners. Within this walled area of about 200 acres the Emperor of China held court before he abdicated in favour of a republic. The Carinthia’s passengers entrained at the port of Chinwongtao for Peking, travelling all day through a monotonous sea of small mounds, which they were informed were thousands of graves. Inside the walls of Peking they were shown the dilapidated throne room, still as it was in the days of the Empire, but heavy with dust and dirty with neglect. Weeds grew between the stono slabs in oncestately courtyards, the only inhabitants being a few soldiers. The whole scene was described as that of a sleeping city, with enough remaining in the various buildings to conjure up memories of a splendour redolent of the departed court.