Willow trees such as these can be seen throughout the scroll. They are mostly planted along the banks of the River, in order to strengthen the foundation.
A wholesale wineshop (正店) located on a busy street inside the city. A three-storied store, a flag "Wholesale Wineshop (正店)" is on the left side of the entrance gate. A small mountain of wine jars is piled in the back yard of the shop, indicating how busy this wine shop is.
A wheelwright and his apprentice work in their small shop. The wheelwright gently taps the wooden sections of the wheel onto the spokes with a mallet, while his apprentice readies new wooden sections. They are making a wheelbarrow, whose frame lies at their feet. (Hansen, 1996b, sec.17)
A wheel shop located on the busy street. A wheelwright and his apprentice work in their small shop. The wheelwright gently taps the wooden sections of the wheel onto the spokes with a mallet, while his apprentice readies new wooden sections. They are making a wheelbarrow, whose frame lies at their feet.
Water supply in the Northern Song capital of Kaifeng is scant. While people are permitted to use them, they are not allowed to dig new wells as they see fit. In the year 1046, responding to various plea for greater water supply, the Northern Song government at last made an initiative to dig more wells throughout the city which, at least for the moment, solved the problem with the shortage of water supply. In this painting, this is the only well depicted. The workers are loading up the various barrels, perhaps to be transported to various spots in the city.
The tow-rope reaches its end on the path above the river, where five trackers are pulling it upstream, against the current. (Hansen, 1996b, sec.12)
Tiled Rooftop of the Wholesale Wine Shop
The tiled rooftop is by far the most ubiquitous architectural element seen in the scroll. Aside from the few thatched-roof cottages in the rural area in the beginning of the scroll, every single building in the scroll has a titled rooftop. Here, we see one of the most beautifully decorated titled rooftop in the whole painting, belonging to the state-run wholesale wine shop. Not all titled rooftop is as ornate as this one, and it seems that the quality of the rooftop may correspond to the status and wealth of the respective residents.
These thatched-roof cottages, unique to the rural area in the scroll, provide a distinct contrast to the titled rooftop that are seen throughout the entire painting.
A Buddhist temple is located outside of the city. On both sides of the entrance gate are the guardian deities. A monk is standing in front of the temple.
A Tax Office located besides the entrance gate of the city. It taxes all the goods passing through the gate. Merchants stand with their goods in front of an official writing at a table. They may be paying a value-added tax on the goods they are bringing into the city. (Hansen, 1996b, sec.23)