Canton (Guangzhou), Kwangtung (Guangdong) province, China: ancient Chuting stone memorial arch, Yuexiu mountain. Photograph by John Thomson, 1871.

Situated in today's Yuexiu Park near the top of Yuexiu Mountain, this stone memorial arch was first erected in 1644 and then rebuilt in 1867 with the money donated by a group of Buddhist believers. The location was thought to be the historical site of Chuting, the ancient name for Guangzhou. Hence the arch was named the 'Ancient Chuting stone memorial arch'. This photograph was taken from the east side; the inscription reads "Yuexiu, the magnificent summit". On the staircase leading up to the arch are three beggars. As Thomson observed, in the late 19th century in major Chinese cities there was often "a motley crowd of beggars" loitering outside religious buildings. A man wearing spectacles, holding a fan, looks over the parapet in the top right corner.