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It is too
Samshui, as a Treaty port, suffers, in my opinion, from two drawbacks. near to the big towns of the delta, such as Fatshan and Chautsun, to ever become an independent distributing centre; and, on the other hand, it lies too far up the West River to allow of its being made a port of foreign entry. For the first-named purpose, Shuihing, on the West River, 25 miles above Samshui, a former capital of the province, and still a town of some importance, would, I venture to think, have been a more suitable location for a Treaty port; for the second, Kumchuk, on the West River, 27 miles below Samshui, just above the junction of the two main channels into the West River, the Wangmoon and the Motomun, at the entrance, too, of a series of navigable creeks leading to Canton, would, I think, bave been a more convenient site, and might by this time have become an important shipping port and distributing centre. To conclude my remarks on Samshui, I would mention that as a steamer anchorage it leaves much to be desired. Situated on a narrow creek, over a mile distant from the main stream, obstructed in winter by shifting sandbanks, and exposed in suminer to sudden freshets from the North River, the anchorage is closed The pool outside during the four winter months to steamers drawing more than 5 fect. the bar, where steamers anchor during that period, can with difficulty accommodate more than three vessels at a time, so that the larger type of steamers now engaged in the West River trade avoid calling at Samshui whenever possible.
as
The extension of the short Cantou- Fatshan Railway has now been completed as far the road has been constructed right up to Samshui. This line is not, as many Sainam; people suppose, the first stage of the Canton-Hankow trunk line, but is a separate branch line from Canton; the main road strikes the North River some 50 miles above Samshui, and from there onwards follows the course of the river as far as Shao-chou-fu. It is possible, I understand, that in time the Samshui branch will be extended via Lupao to join the main system. Two traina a-day now run regularly to Sainam, crowded both ways with native passengers.
The passenger traffic on this line will certainly pay well, but it is doubtful whether, as regards cargo, the railway will be able to compete successfully with junk and steamer.
Section 3.-The River Journey from Samshui to Shao-chou-fu.
"
commanded by Lieutenant and His Majesty's light draught gun-boat "Robin,' Commander R. E. Vaughan, R.N., left Samshui at 6 o'clock on the morning of the 6th July. As we turned out of the Sainum Creek into the North River, it was difficult to realize that the stretch of sluggish, muddy water before us, differing little in appear ance from the typical delta creek, was to become later on a noble river forcing its way for over 200 miles through mountain ranges, and giving access, with its many tributaries, to the uttermost parts of northern Koangtung.
For some miles above Samshui the banks continue low, the country being almost entirely devoted to the cultivation of the mulberry. The smoking brick-kilns which line the bank on both sides form the most striking feature of the landscape. These kilns supply the cities in the delta with bricks haked red, grey, and dark green--the latter the Some 6 miles from its mouth the interesting best quality-and tiles, both flat and futed,
Rising in the but little known Bamboo River unobtrusively joins the main stream. north-east corner of Kuang-si, the Bamboo River is one of the Pakkong's principal tributaries. It is said to be navigable for light-draught steamers for some distance up, but a shitting sandy bar at its mouth has so far deterred our gun-boats from exploring this picturesque stream. It is famous for the luxuriant bamboo groves which line the banks for upwards of 100 miles. The large market town of Shek-kou, at the entrance to the bamboo country, is the chief centre of trade in the district, and here the great rafts are pur together which, dropping down to Canton and Fatshan through the narrow crecks in the delta, form a serious impediment to steam navigation on these waters. From the Bamboo River the cities of the delta derive their supplies of bamboo, that useful article which Chinese ingenuity has adapted to every conceivable use, till it has become part and parcel of their every-day life, and almost a national symbol.
At 10 o'clock we reached Lupao, a busy town on the right, i.e., east bank, 20 miles From here a creek, navigable for distant from Samshui, the seat of a big li-kin station.
Launches run daily junks in summer, leads to Canton, distance approximately 45 miles. almost all the year round between Lupao and Canton via Sainam and Fatshan; the service is continued during the summer months to Tsing-yuen and Yingtak. Twenty-miles above Lupao is Shek-kok, a large town on the right bank, with four pawnshops, a well-preserved pagoda on the opposite bank, and considerable shipping; the surrounding country is low,
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and a fine embankment, which burst through neglect some years ago with disastrous result, stretches for over a mile along the river bank below the town.
The Tsing-yuen Hills said to be the prehistoric coast line of this part of the province-which have hitherto formed a background in the blue distance, now come into clearer view, the river widens, and at the same time becomes shallower, winding in and out between sandy islands, until at a bend in the river westward we come in sight of the two pagodas guarding the approaches to the district city of Tsing-yuen. Here, at 4 P.M., the "Robin" anchored for the night. Tsing-yuen is a well-built, prosperous-looking town, stretching for over a mile along the left bank of the river, the water front covered with shipping and an unusually gaudy display of "flower boats." I estimate its popula- tion at about 50,000. We landed in the evening and walked through the principal street running outside the wall, parallel to the river bank; the people were inquisitive, but not unfriendly. The shops had the usual display of foreign goods, apparently all derived from Canton. The famous Tsing-yuen tea, grown on the hills behind the town was on sale in most of the principal shops. It is, I understand, a low-grade tea-I bought half a-pound for 20 cents, about 4d.--and is shipped in large quantities to Canton for export to the Straits Settlements. The other chief product of the district is brown, called pau sugar, sent to Samshui for transhipment to Canton and Macao. A launch leaves Tsing- yuen every morning at daylight for Canton. Here I saw for the first time the new Chinese commercial flag, a most inartistic production, having the added disadvantage of being at a distance hardly distinguishable from the red ensign. Both Protestant (American Baptist) and Roman Catholic missionaries have made their head-quarters in the town for some years past; they are, I am told, after many vicissitudes, now doing well. I was unfortunate in finding them all absent-the Protestants recruiting at the coast, the Roman Catholics travelling in the interior. It is remarkable that a town of the size of Tsing-yuen should be without a telegraph office. Although the line passes along the opposite bank of the river, the nearest station is at Pakkong-kou, 15 miles away. One wonders why the local merchants and gentry have in these progressive days been content to remain so long cut off from telegraphic communication with the outer world. There is a branch office of the Imperial Chinese post in the main street.
The hills in the vicinity of Tsing-yuen are still fairly rich in timber, and tigers are said to be plentiful on their jungle-covered slopes. Here the plain abruptly ends; hence- forward the river flows through a mountainous country which extends, practically without interruption, to the borders of Hunan and Kiangsi.
As the water was falling we decided to push on to Ying-tak the following morning and defer exchanging visits with the Tsing-huen Magistrate to the return journey. As things turned out I had no opportunity of calling on this official; but as I learnt that, in common with most of his colleagues in the provinces, he was a new arrival, I doubt if he would have been able to afford me any useful information.
Leaving Tsing-yuen the next morning, the 7th July, at 6 o'clock we came after a two hours run to the celebrated gorge of Fei-lo-ssů (in Cantonese, Fi-loy-tze), where the river narrows down to flow through a narrow winding pass between hills rising abruptly from the water's edge to a height of some 500 feet or 600 feet. At the entrance to the gorge lies the salt station of Pai-miao (Pak-miu) where salt for the Lienchou district is transferred from the large Canton junks into smaller craft. The fishing village on the opposite side has an evil reputation for piracy. Half way through the gorge, which is some 3 miles long, stands the famous Buddhist monastery of Fi-loy-tze, forming with its shrines, halls, hud kiosks picturesquely perched in the midst of a thickly wooded ravine, a notable example of Chinese ecclesiastical architecture. The graves of Fi-loy-tze are well known throughout the province; it was here that Dr. B. C. Henry, the missionary, whose book entitled 'Ling nam should accompany every traveller in the Canton Province, discovered amongst other rare flowers, two new species of rhododendron. In this gorge we noticed for the first time the limestone quarries which occur at short intervals on both banks of the river for the next 50 miles; a succession of boats deeply laden with limestone pass daily down river to the limekilus of the delta.
Above the gorge the river broadens again, the hills recede from the bank, becoming higher and better wooded than before. They now begin to assume the fantastic shapes which form such a striking feature of Kuangtung mountain scenery: jagged masses of rock, isolated peaks, cliffs rising up from the water's edge; huge boulders set on top of grass-covered slopes, changing their shape from hour to hour as the river pursues its winding course among them.
Just before noon, at a point about 24 miles below the small market town of Wong- shek, we came up with a party of American engineers engaged in making the final survey
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