It is crossed at the narrowest part, which
corresponds to gates in the walls, by a handsome bridge, the extremities
of which are adorned by two triumphal arches of three openings each....
The lake is surrounded by palaces and pleasure houses, built partly in the
water and partly on shore, and charming boats are provided on it for the
use of the Emperor when he chooses to go a-fishing or to take an airing."
(Ibid. 282-283.) The marble bridge, as it now exists, consists of nine
arches, and is 600 feet long. (Rennie's Peking, II. 57.)
Ramusio specifies another lake in the city, fed by the same stream
before it enters the palace, and used by the public for watering cattle.
["The lake which Marco Polo saw is the same as the T'ai-yi ch'i of our
days. It has, however, changed a little in its form. This lake and also
its name T'ai-yi ch'i date from the twelfth century, at which time an
Emperor of the Kin first gave orders to collect together the water of some
springs in the hills, where now the summer palaces stand, and to conduct
it to a place north of his capital, where pleasure gardens were laid out.
The river which enters the lake and issues from it exists still, under its
ancient name Kin-shui." (Bretschneider, Peking, 34.) - H. C.]
NOTE 12.
