File:A MILITARY STATION.jpg

English: Drawing by William Alexander, draughtsman of the Macartney Embassy to China in 1793. A military station on a levee along the canal. The guard, who are drawn out in a line, salutes the passing by vessel with a double umbrella signifying a mandarin of distinction who is also acknowledged by the firing of three petards. Adjacent to the building stands a look-out tower, commanding an extensive prospect; in front are placed five cones of plastered brick work, out of which certain combustibles are fired in times of alarm. In front of the building, there is a simple triumphal entrance, on which there is an inscription; near it, the imperial ensign is located; and on the right of the house there is a frame of wood, in which are deposited different weapons, such as pikes, matchlock guns, and bows. Alexander notes that along the canals and public roads of China, a great number of similar military posts is erected, at which eight or ten soldiers are generally stationed. Image taken from The Costume of China, illustrated in forty-eight coloured engravings, published in London in 1805.