THE grand canal of China, or rather the water communication between the
northern and southern extremities of the empire by a succession of
canals and rivers, is certainly the first inland navigation in the
world. The multitude of vessels, of every size and shape, is not to be
estimated. The large one in the print is one of those which carried the
British embassador and his suite up the Pei-ho to the neighbourhood of
Pekin, which were in every respect comfortable and commodious. On
passing bridges, which are very frequent in the neighbourhood of all
towns and villages, the masts are usually lowered down; but many of the
bridges are lofty enough to admit the smaller kind of barges to pass
underneath with their masts standing. The bridges are almost as various
in their shape and construction as the barges, and some of them by no
means destitute of taste.
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[Illustration:
CHINA—PLATE 43
]
Plate XLIII.