Page:Illustrations of China and Its People vol. I. 2ed edition.pdf/51

 THE BRITISH CONSULAR YAMUN, CANTON,

THE yamuns, or residences of the governor-general and other high officers of the province, are situated in the Tartar quarter of the city. The area covered by each of these yamuns is considerable, for it includes, besides the private dwelling of the mandarin, the courts and offices of his departments in the administration.

We enter the governor-general's yamun by a triple gateway, and pass through a series of paved and highly ornamental courts, overshadowed by the rich foliage of venerable trees, by groves of bamboo, and the huge leaves of the banana. These courts conduct us straight to the official reception hall ; beyond this, and approached by a succession of passages adorned with quaint vase-shaped doorways, and a profusion of wood panels carved in the most exquisite designs, are the private gardens and apartments of His Excellency's household. These gardens are embowered in trees, beneath which are pleasant shady walks, winding now round lotus pools, now between strange porcelain walls mantled with a variety of flowering shrubs. Here and there we come upon a little rocky retreat, covered with moss, fern, and lichen ; the whole representing the perfection of Chinese landscape gardening ; though to a foreigner more attractive for the novelty and beauty of its detail than for the general effect of the whole.

The British Consulate is formed by the rear-half of the Tartar general's yamun. A wall encloses a space of six or seven acres, laid out, for the most part, as a garden or park. In this park are arbours of fine old trees, which afford shade to a herd of deer, so tame that they will feed from their keeper's or the consul's hands.

The consular residence is entered by a round opening in the wall, through which we catch a glimpse, as we approach, of a court adorned with rockeries, of gold fish in vases, and of pots of rare shrubs set in ornamental china stands. The house itself consists of two flats, and is purely Chinese in its construction. The only other buildings of importance in the enclosure are a suite of apartments built in a row, and approached by granite steps, frequently used for the accommodation of visitors. The consular offices and residences of the junior members of the consulate are situated on the British concession of Shamien.

This photograph is taken from the steps of the row of buildings just noticed, showing a portion of the garden ; and, in the centre, the ruined gable of a palace, occupied about two centuries ago by the son-in-law of the Manchu conqueror. The pagoda is known to the Chinese as the " Flowery ornate" Pagoda. It is one of the oldest in the south of China, and is said to have been erected during the reign of Wu-Ti, a. d. 537. Its shape is octagonal, it has nine stories, and is 170 feet high. It was scaled in 1859 by some British sailors, but the natives are not allowed to run the risk of an ascent.