An interesting corroboration of this account is given by Polo, who says, “Inside the city there is a lake which has a compass of some 30 miles; and all around it are erected beautiful palaces and mansions, of the richest and most exquisite structure that you can imagine, belonging to the nobles of the city. There are also on its shores many abbeys and churches of the idolaters. In the middle of the lake are two islands, on each of which stands a rich, beautiful and spacious edifice, furnished in such a style as to seem fit for the palace of an emperor. And when any one of the citizens desired to hold a marriage feast, or to give any other entertainment, it used to be done at one of these palaces.”[56]
The splendor and size of the numerous Buddhist temples in and around Hangchau attracted travellers to the city more even than did its position; these shrines have, however, all been destroyed, and their thousands of priests driven away; the Tai-pings left no building untouched. The Yoh Miao stands near the north-west corner of the Si Hu, and contains the tombs of the patriot general Yoh Fi of the Sung dynasty (A.D. 1125), and his son, who were unjustly executed as traitors. Two conical mounds mark their resting places, and separated by a wall, but inside the inclosure are four iron statues cast in a kneeling posture and loaded with chains,--on his right Tsin Kwei and his wife, on the left a judge and general, who subserved Tsin Kwei’s hatred of Yoh Fi by their flagitious conduct. All four are here doing homage and penance to this just man whom they killed, and by the obloquy they receive serve as a warning to other traitors. In a temple, called _Ting-tsz’ sz’_, not far from the city, the party of the Dutch embassy were well lodged, and attended by three hundred priests. The establishment was in good repair, and besides two guardian monsters more than thirty feet high, near the entrance, contained five hundred images of the Buddhist Arhans, with miniature pagodas of bronze, of beautiful workmanship.
Hangchau is better known abroad for manufactures of silk than for any other fabrics, but its position at the termination of the Canal may perhaps give its name to many articles which are not actually made there, for Huchau is now a greater dépôt for raw and woven silks. In the northern suburbs lies an irregular basin, forming the southern extremity of the Canal; but between the river and the basin there is no communication, so that all goods brought hither must be landed. The city contains, among other public buildings, a mosque, bearing an inscription in Arabic, stating that it is a “temple for Mussulmen, when travelling, who wish to consult the Koran.”[57] It is higher than the adjacent buildings, and adorned with a cupola, pierced with holes at short intervals. It was spared in 1863, as not being an idolatrous temple. There are also several others in the city, it being a stronghold of Islamism in China. Water communication exists between Hangchau and Yüyau, south-east through Shauhing, and thence to Ningpo, by means of which goods find their way to and from the capital. A good road also runs between the two former cities; indeed, elsewhere in the province the thoroughfares are very creditable; they are laid with broad slabs of granite and limestone, and lead over plains and hills in numberless directions.