1930s HOME MOVIE TRIP TO COLOMBO, SRI LANKA AND PEKING / BEIJING CHINA GREAT WALL 47824

This B&W silent home movie dates to the 1930s, and documents a trip made by an unknown America tourist to Sri Lanka and China. Title card: “Colombo to Kandy by Motor - Native Scenes” (0:09). Transit center in Colombo, Sri Lanka (0:14). Busy street—ox-drawn wagons with thatched covers, passerby (0:19). Elephant in chains shakes white man’s hand (0:35). White men riding elephants near local elephant handlers (0:47). Man walks path near trees in Sri Lanka, car briefly visible behind (0:59). Sri Lankan children laugh, play (1:04). Schoolchildren gather near road in Sri Lanka (1:11). Sri Lankan performers in costume (long skirts, beads, hats) dance, play double-sided drums for white tourist audience outside in garden (local dance) (1:24). Elaborate Sri Lankan estate, garden with statues (1:53). Train in Sri Lanka passing road (2:13). Steamboat near harbor (2:20). Man wearing turban walks down sidewalk of quiet road; men carrying bundles. (2:42). Exterior of Temple in Sri Lanka (elaborate small tower, gate, passerby) (2:49). Sri Lankan men in various dress (uniform, skirt) pose for camera (2:54). Handlers stand with oxen, wagon (3:00). Garden on windy day (palm trees, refreshments stand, lawn chairs); white tourists in suits and hats sit down at garden tables, smoke, served by locals (3:07). White couple sitting together smiles at camera (3:25). Hotel Lavina, Colombo, “native boat;“ sailboat on beach by crowd (3:37). Beach in Sri-Lanka (3:45). Steamboats in Sri Lankan harbor (3:50). Memorial Auditorium Sun Yat Sen (Zhongshan Memorial Hall), Canton (Guangzhou, Guangdong), China (Lu Yanzhi) (4:00). People under shade (thatched structure) in clearing (4:06). Crowd of Chinese / Cantonese people—all ages, women and men with sunhats, parasols (4:10). White people in coats and hats stand in auditorium, passerby, cars (4:30). Chinese man approaches tourist’s camera (5:00). Crowded street near Canton—men in hats and coats, women in braids (one holding child), men look at camera, boys holding infant (5:09). Man wearing wide-brimmed hat holding farm tool poses for camera (6:04). Man runs with carrying pole / shoulder pole with hanging baskets (6:00). Man carries infant through rice terrace in China (6:05). Alleyway with trees, dog, passerby (6:16). Car, square in front of pyramid-shaped temple building (6:20). Two Chinese men stand with hands on hips in crowd (6:28). Oxen in town (6:33). “Harbor at Chin Wang Tao, Railway Station, Route to Pekin“ (6:35). Chin Wang Tao railway station platform, passengers of all ages waiting (fur coats/shawls, hats, uniforms, bicycle, bags, white tourists, train on platform, station sign) (6:40). “North China School of Language, Peking“ (7:58). Three-story buildings, Peking; garden next to building, perhaps church (8:18). Funeral procession, Hartman Street; bicycle, children with reeds, carts, buggy, lifted structure (8:28). Sedan chair travel from rail station to Peking Great Wall (8:52). Pack camels rest near Great Wall (8:59). Crowds, structures, tourists near Great Wall (9:02). Fenced town square near Peking, China. People carrying vessels balanced on shoulder rods in quiet town (9:49). Men in coats gathered near town square in China, women laughs with soldier carrying rifle, passerby (10:00). “Forbidden City - Street Sprinkling System“ (10:18). Forbidden City / Palace Complex / Imperial City / Beijing (10:24). People in brouettes approach buildings. Restaurants, carts, storefronts, people gathered at tables on busy street near Forbidden City, steaming pot (maybe hot pot?) (10:35). Brouette vehicles, bicycles, carts, gate, pedestrians on road near Imperial city (10:43). “Early morning view, Wagon Lit Hotel, Pekin” (11:00). Peking—park and gazebo, various rapid shots inside dark buildings (mirrors, passerby) (11:20). People in hats, coats walk outdoor sunlit passageway (11:39). Chinese art (11:48). Upturned corners of Chinese roofs; multi-storied building complex; stairs, entryways, verandas, pavilion, likely Summer Palace near Peking (11:50). “Old Buddha’s 3,000,000 Yen Marble Boat” (12:25). Marble Boat (Qingyan Fang, Han Chuan, Land Boat, Bu Ji Zhou, Unmoored Boat, Kunming Lake, Longevity Hill, Summer Palace) (12:31). “Buddha In Llama Temple and My Guests, Two Idaho Buddha Priests“ (12:59). Buddha sculpture, Yonghe Temple (Yonghe Lamasery, Lama Temple) (Tibetan Buddhism) (13:02). Monks (13:15). Mountains and ocean near Peking (13:22). This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit Machinations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: Artist: