Photos from 1918 take you back to old Beijing. Can you see camels in the streets and alleys?

A man riding a camel in Beijing. It is difficult for us to see camels now. If we want to see them, we can only go to the zoo. In fact, this kind of large, gentle-tempered livestock used to be seen everywhere in the streets of the north. This article selects images taken by American amateur photographer Sidney Gamble in and around Beijing in 1918 to show the important role camels played in life at that time.

Camels resting on the streets of Beijing. The camel bells of old Beijing have echoed in history for 700 years. As early as the Yuan Dynasty, camel teams for transporting goods appeared here. There was a poem at that time that read: "Golden chariots and golden camels are placed under the emerald green roof, and Shuang'e is carried on the hibiscus-embroidered mattress." ?This describes the scene of a cart being pulled by camels. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, camels played an indispensable role in people's daily lives, and they carried a large amount of daily necessities.

Camel teams walking on the streets of Beijing. Camels have super endurance. They can travel long distances and go several days without eating or drinking. They can carry three to four hundred kilograms of goods at a time, and their economic benefits as a means of transportation are particularly obvious. Every morning, long queues of camels pass through the streets, with bells on their necks swaying and tinkling. This scene has become an inherent sight of old Beijing. Camels are transported mainly in autumn, winter and spring. Because they are afraid of heat, they also need to escape from the heat and recuperate like people in summer.

Camel caravan on the streets of Beijing. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, how many camels were there in the capital? The camels coming from other places waiting to enter the city gate often line up more than ten miles away, like a Great Wall. After entering the city, the camel convoys walk in the streets and alleys, often causing traffic jams and forcing pedestrians and vehicles to give way. In order to solve this problem, the Capital Police Department of the Republic of China specifically stipulated that camels should be kept in groups of three and should not be linked together. ?The four camels in the photo are in a group. Is it suspected of violating the regulations?

Camels and handlebars in the suburbs of Beijing. These camels walking in a queue are all connected together with ropes, as the saying goes: "Thin noses are worn with ropes and bells hanging on their necks, and they are blocking the street slowly to avoid camels."

Camel caravan walking on the street. Camel transportation can be divided into long-distance and short-distance transportation. Long-distance travel is between Beijing and Shanxi, Beijing and Mongolia and other places, while short-distance travel is more common between the western suburbs of Beijing and the city. There is a long distance between Beijing and Mongolia, and the camel journey best reflects its "desert boat" characteristics. The main items transported from Mongolia to Beijing were wool, camel hair, leather, mules and horses, earth ore, etc. The items transported from Beijing to Mongolia included silk cloth, copper and iron utensils, tobacco, liquor, sugar, tea, grain, etc.