In and around Peking. A description of views taken by Thos. Child. N° 76. View from marble bridge. Imperial City. Standing on the marble bridge (N° 75) and looking towards the N. E. accross the ornemental lake, the subject of this view is seen. On the left of the picture is a very ancient structure dating back for more than a thousand years. The artificial hill crowned with a marble "Dagoba" is said to have been brought from Mongolia in the T'ang dynasty. Traditions says the Geomancers told the Emperor that the existence of his dynasty depended on the possession of a certain hill in Mongolia and he determining not to end his supremacy for the want of a little (?) labour, had the hill broken up and conveyed to the capital : but the most propable origin is, that it was the dirt dug out of the lake and piled up to form a hill.
Au recto, dans l'image, en bas à gauche : "T. Child 1876 - N° 76 View in Imperial City Peking". Au verso, en bas à gauche, tampon à l'encre violette "Thos. Child. Peking - n° 76".
L'épreuve est accompagnée d'un cartouche collé sous l'image contenant une description du sujet imprimée en anglais (voir ALBUM D137-9-11).