Old Photos from "Beautiful Soo"

It took me quite a while to track down Hampdon DuBose's Beautiful Soo pamphlet, but I ultimately found a copy of the second edition (1911) at a reasonable price from a UK seller. Haven't seen any others for sale since, and that was almost four years ago now.

Since there's a limit on the photos I can include in Beautiful Su, I thought I'd post copies of some of the century-old photos contained in DuBose's version. Many of the pictures are as fascinating for the surroundings as they are for the objects of the photographer's interest. I will periodically post on this blog Suzhou-related pictures of all sorts and from all recent eras and multiple sources, including many I've taken myself. For now, here are a few from 1911, courtesy of Kelly & Walsh publishers of Shanghai.

 One of my favorites, showing the quiet then surrounding Tiger Hill. 

A nice view of the crenellated city wall, a tower, and a water gate.

Unmistakably Bao Dai Qiao, the 53-arch Precious Belt Bridge. 

The nine-arch, Xingchun Bridge at the south end of Shihu, Stone Lake.

Ruiguang Pagoda standing in solitude in what is now Panmen Gate park. 

The Ink Pagoda with memorial hall standing in what is now the Suzhou University campus.

Changmen (water) Gate as it looked in the early 1900s. 

The entrance bridge to Surging Waves Pavilion, not terribly different than it looks today. 

The towering North Temple Pagoda of 1911; there's no canal there today.