ocr: Iusually got up early in Beijing and took a walk. I passed old women sweeping the alleys with bundles of twigs and saw: sidewalk cateries springing to life, the coal smoke of braziers mingling with the aroma of steamed buns. Not far from my hotel stretched the high wall of the For- bidden City, the Ming stronghold. A little beyond that was Beihai Park, where couples paddled in rented boats on a placid lake. Kublai knew that lake; it was on the grounds of his palace- - "the great- est palace that ever was, " Marco Polo: wrote, with a banquet hall for 6,000. There were quarters for each of Kubla ...
