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SUCHOW
Suchow. Wall 7-8 fathoms high of baked bricks with a crenellated parapet and many wall projections, of which only those protecting the gates are of any size. No outer protected space. Fosse practically filled up. Small towers only on the E corner projections. Over gate 12 yds, gate projection in depth 20 yds and inner gate 40 yds. Small groups of houses in the N and S near the gates; in the E a fairly large suburb surrounded by a neglected wall of clay or unbaked bricks, 3 1/2-4 fathoms high. The space inside the wall fairly regularly intersected by streets. The westernmost part is partly uninhabited, partly occupied by large temple buildings. The yamens of the Djentai and Taotai are in the SE corner, the Tsouguan's in the centre of the N part of the town. - The land in the W, S and SSE consists of tilled fields at various levels, intersected by a great many small ariqs and strewn with thin trees and scattered houses. The houses are most numerous in the W and the ground is slightly higher, in the N it is practically entirely open. The bed of the Pei-ta-ho, covered with gravel and 2/3 of a mile wide, lies there and the ground slopes towards it almost imperceptibly. N of the river bed it rises slightly and forms a steep incline in some places. In the E and SE the ground is also very open and low, in the S it rises very slightly. A ravine-like incline, up to 2 fathoms in height, runs close to the fortress in the W, S and E. The roads in the W and partly in the E are deeply sunken in the ground. - Drawn by the author. |
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