English: Entitled: Imperial Gate of The Imperial City, Looking North, Peking China [1901] HC White Co. [RESTORED] I did the usual spot and defects repair, adjusted for tone and contrast, rotational corrected, and added a sepia tone. The original is from a pair of stereoscope images and can be found in the US Library Of Congress.

From the Hawley C. White Company and now residing in the US Library of Congress, an image that bridges two cultures, both of which have faded into history long ago (the Chinese monarchy and Qing Dynasty are both gone almost a century). Hawley C. White's company was one of the most prolific stereoscope image companies ever. His catalog reportedly listed over 13,000 assorted images from around the world, covering the end of the 1800's through 1915. Moreover, he was able to mass produce his pictures by his invention of an automated darkroom process in which negatives were placed on photographic print paper, properly exposed, and then chemically developed, all automatically by machine. In the present day, it's not much to hoot and holler about; back in the early 1900's however, it was considered an engineering miracle. HC White Company's images were not only of higher quality, but were consistent, and produced quickly in much greater numbers vastly eclipsing both his larger rivals, Keystone or Underwood's (the other stereoscope view companies) daily production. Keystone was to eventually buy out White's company when he decided to retire.

The southern gate to the imperial city, considered the ceremonial gateway to China, had stood since Ming times. Under Qing rule, it had been renamed as The Great Qing Gate 大清門, and also bore its public title in a rare display of both Chinese and Manchu text. Upon the fall of the Qing however, the gate was renamed once more, to be called the Gate of China 中華門. Sadly, the historic gate itself fell not to conquerors, but to urban planning. It was demolished in 1954 in order to expand Tiananmen Square, and would later become the site of Mao's mausoleum after his death in 1976.

• • • Sidebar*** Many historic buildings in Beijing, had their dual Chinese - Manchu signs replaced by pure Chinese ones after the fall of the Qing, though some may still have both and can be found if one is persistent enough. Sadly too, the Manchu language itself today is expected to be extinct in a just a few more years, as the last remaining native speakers die off. This presents unique problems for Qing historians as there is no longer anyone who natively understands the written Manchu text found in about 20% of Qing dynasty archives.