RECORDS OF THE JOURNEY
hills, both on its N bank and S of the road, have picturesque outlines with perpendicular sides. The distance seemed shorter than during the last two days, although it was said to be the same. The local people say, however, that the 6o li of the two previous days should be reckoned as 8o li. — A Taotai and a Tchill chow are resident in the town. The population is estimated to be about 1,000 tja. The district is divided into 22 li, each li consisting of 18-20 villages of 8o—i oo houses. Thus the rural population should amount to not less than 3I-32,000 tja. In addition to the kinds of grain grown at Lingpao, red kunsjut and rice are cultivated here.
Several elementary schools, i tsung and r kao teng hsiao hsiao tang (a continuation of the tsung, but less extensive than the kao teng hsiao tang) are said to be well frequented. The pupils, who received pay for the first year, have now to provide books at their own expense. The population praises the schools. — In regard to opium there are proclamations. No more than 3 days ago it was announced that medicine for smokers would be distributed. The fields have not been restricted so far, though this is threatened. — The railway scheme has aroused interest. There has been no preliminary subscription, but a good many merchants are reported to be willing to subscribe for shares. A proclamation announced that to million taels were required for carrying out the scheme. — The town is supposed to have been founded during the time of the Emperor Chow. N of it there is a dilapidated temple, in the courtyard of which a withered tree stands, surrounded by bricks. This is also said to belong to the same remote period.
The E wall and gate of Shanchow rise high above the surrounding country. It was still May 23rd. dark when, at 3 a.m., we roused the watchman and were allowed to pass out. A sunken Kwangying road started almost immediately to the E of the town. It led us, after 5 and 12 li, past tang village. the villages of Wai yu ku and Suichia chu, both small. Some time before the latter the road debouched into a plain with an open view, though the faint light did not allow us to enjoy it. During the rest of the day we were only imprisoned in a sunken road from time to time and always only for a short time. There were many villages along the road. Excepting Chang maochen with 35o and Hsia shui with 1-200 houses, 55 and 75 li respectively from Shanchow, they were all very small. The landscape became more and more mountainous and the road grew more uneven, though it does not present any difficulty except during rain, when this yellow soft ground is heavy and difficult even in the flattest places. In several places there were deep and steep crevices next to the road. After about 5o li there was a clearly marked group of mountains a mile or two to the left of the road. On the right there was a chain of hills that gradually approached the road. The ground dipped towards it and formed a long and gradual valley at its foot. — 5 li further on the road took us down a hill into a wooded open valley which we followed for 10-15 ii.
The road curved more and more, the main direction being E. Larger hills now appeared in front of us. We crossed a long ridge-like hill at the village of Chiatilin, immediately E of which was the steepest hill of the day, 7 li in length. (692.1 and 706.9 according to the aneroid No. x). After climbing for io li, though not so steeply owing to several curves, we reached the village of Kwang ying tang after covering ioo li.
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