Ruins of a marble tower, Beijing, China. Photograph by John Thomson, 1871.

A marble tower of three stages, each stage with a statue of Buddha. At ground level are statues of Chinese warriors. Ivy and ferns grow at the base and out of the second storey, have wrapped themselves around the building and cover the ground surrounding it. The location is likely to be the Fragrant Hills Monastery, or the Monastery of Eternal Tranquility, just outside of Beijing. The Monastery was completed in 1747 during the reign of Qianlong, and was regarded as one of the 28 sights of Fragrant Hills. The temple was burned down by French and British troops in 1860. On his way to the ruins of the Garden of Clear Ripple, Thomson stayed in the nearby Monastery of Sleeping Buddha, and he thought these ruins were the remains of a princely edifice