Because the trees were so numerous, the city still had much the character of a garden. Most people found it hard to believe that Beijing had a higher density of trees than the country around it. "From these high vantage points, the city appears much like a forest, with only the roofs of the most prominent buildings sticking up above the trees.
當時北京人口密度比許多歐洲城市都高，但是因為樹木眾多，城市仍保有花園的性質，很難讓人相信城中的樹比城外更多，「從這些優點上看來，北京像一個樹林，只有最重要的屋頂可在樹頂上看出來。