6
of the Canton-Hankow (or Yueh Han) railroad. The "Robin" anchored here for half an-hour, and two of them came on board. They informed me that the main line from Canton will join the North River at Pakkong-hau, just above the Fi-loy-tze gorge, and thence follow the river as far as Shao-chou-fu. The survey was commenced last February, and the work, hitherto carried on intermittently, is now being pushed on at the rate of about a mile a-day. The actual construction of the line would, they said, be commenced as soon as the branch line to Samshni had been completed. The party, six in number, was accompanied by a Chinese official and a strong military guard; the country people were now on the whole friendly, and placed no serious obstacles in their way.
Above Wong-shek both banks of the river are lined with bamboo groves, as far as the Taimin-hap ("Great Temple Pass"), where the stream again winds between high hills and precipitous cliffs. Passing a few miles further on the Censer gorges, we reached at 1 o'clock the entrance to another famous pass, the Mong-sai-hap or Blind Boy Pass, so called from the striking profile of a face visible from certain points of view on a cliff at the left-hand side. Here the Lienchou River, the second principal tributary of the Pakkong, joins the main stream. At the junction lies the busy shipping port of Kong-hau.
The Lienchou River rises in the north-west corner of the province, near the Hunan border, and flows for some 120 miles through a mountainous country, inhabited by the Miao-tze aborigines, who still to a great extent, secure in their inaccessible mountain homes, dely all the efforts of the Chinese to control or civilize them. They seldom come down to the North River, but they have been visited on several occasions by missionaries who speak well of their hospitality to foreigners.
The principal towns on the river are Lienchou, a prefectural city of some 50,000 inhabitants, the centre of trade in north-west Kuangtung, situated in a fertile plain; Yung- shan, district city; Taiwan and Howkong, the latter a large li-kin station with bridge of boats.
The Roman Catholic missionaries have for some years past had stations all along the river, and recently the American Presbyterians have established themselves at Lienchou.
At 5 P.M. we passed the large limestone quarries of Lau-ti-wan, where blasting opera- tions were in full swing. The stone is run down the sloping banks in wheel-barrows and discharged into junks, some thirty of which I counted moored along the river bank. Shortly afterwards, having successfully found our way through a shallaw crossing opposite the quarries, we came in sight of the Yingtak pagoda on the right bank, and turning a corner to the left we steamed up to the district city of Yingtak, where at 6 F.M. the
6319 "Robin" anchored for the night.
CF
Yingtak, a small walled town on the left bank, is picturesquely situated in an amphi- theatre of rugged hills, just above a range of limestone cliffs, which, jutting out into the stream, form one of the numerous gates " of the North River. Opposite the town, the Yung-yuen, or Copper River, joins the main stream: this tributary is navigable only for small boats, numbers of which, laden with charcoal, came floating down on the evening of our arrival and anchored in rows close by us. Yingtak was formerly the seat of the It is now a busy Government for this part of the province, and a noted Buddhist centre. shipping port, the present limit of regular steam navigation on the North River, Launches drawing not more than 4 feet can reach Yingtak under normal conditions from May to September. Below Yingtak the river, although shallow in places, presents no exceptional difficulties: navigation is not hampered by rocks and rapids as on the West River.
I consider that two small light-draft stern-wheelers, able to carry about 200 passengers on a 3-foot draft, would pay well if placed on the run between Canton, Tsing, yen, and Yingtak. They could, if necessary, run in connection with the Canton-Sanshui Railway, transferring passengers at Sainam.
Above Yingtak the river narrows considerably, and its navigability, even for native craft, depends entirely on the rainfall. We found a bar about a mile above Yingtak with less than 3 feet on it; on my return a week later, after a day's heavy rain, there was at least 10 feet in the same place. I do not think, therefore, that it would be possible to maintain a regular service to any point above Yingtak on remunerative lines; there seems to be no reason, however, why the Yingtak boats, of the type I have indicated, should not run to Shao-chou whenever the water.permits, as the West River launches run to Nanning. Even when the railway is completed, I consider that river steamers will have a fair chance of holding their own. I am quite sure that these stern-wheelers would be well patronized by foreign passengers; many people in Hong Kong and Canton have assured me that they would jump at the chance of escaping from the heat of the delta and spend a few days among the breezy North River gorges. The Hong Kong, Canton, and Macao Steam-ship Companies, who are each year meeting with stronger competition
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on the Hong Kong line, might, I think, do worse than turn their attention to the North River.
Yingtak is a much smaller town than Tsing-yuen, but has some fair shops in the main street. Prominent among the foreign goods I noticed condensed milk, canned fruits, Japanese beer, and cigarettes, all imported from Canton. The district-a poor one, according to the Magistrate-produces rice, sugar, and bamboo. We were unable, as I shall explain later, to proceed the next day, so I took the opportunity to call with Captain Vaughan on the district Magistrate, Shih Yün-tuan, a native of Shansi. He sent his own chair and red umbrella to take us to the Yamên, returning our call immediately after in full uniform. He was very cordial in his manner, and evinced an intelligent interest in the "Robin"; as, however, he had only been a month at his post, the information I obtained from him on local affairs was not of much value.
The following morning, the water having fallen slightly during the night, we made an early start, but were obliged to return, as the "Robin," drawing 2 ft. 8 in., was unable to cross the bar about a mile above the town. At the time we stranded, and throughout the day, large salt junks, drawing at least 3 feet, found their way across the bar, but our pilot being obviously unused to steamers, Captain Vaughan deemed it prudent to remain at Yingtak until a rise occurred. I took advantage of the delay to explore the town and surrounding country, meeting with no incivility from the people.
During the night of the 9th July the clouds which had been gathering all day burst in a thunderstorm, followed by three hours' heavy rain. Next morning the river had risen 15 inches, so we made a fresh start, and this time succeeded in crossing the bar without difficulty, although the pilot twice put the "Robin" ashore a few miles higher up. For some miles above Yingtak the river Dows between high banks through a fertile country, sown with rice and sugar cane. At 10 A.M. we passed Mong-fu-kong, a village with a pawnshop on the right bank. On the summit of a hill behind the town there is said to be a small lake, indicating the crator of an extinct volcano. Another hour's run brought us to the celebrated Kuan-yin-shan, and the cave temples dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy. On the left bank a wall of rock, covered with dense foliage, rises almost perpendicularly from the water's edge to a height of some 600 feet. At the foot a stone stairway leads
into the caverns which pierce the cliff in all directions. The main shrine of the temple is visible some 100 feet up the face of the cliff, We had no time to visit this interesting spot, but steanied on past a series of limestone quarries, the largest at Pak-shek-hui on the right bank.
At Sha-hau, 22 miles above Yingtak, the Canton salt juuks tranship their cargoes for Shao-chou during the low-water season. At 6.30 P.M. we anchored for the
night amid really magnificent mountain scenery, just above the small town of Wushek. Starting again at 6 o'clock on the morning of the 11th July, the river slowly rising, we passed through another striking gorge, called the Tantze-ki or Cannon Ball barrier, where the cliffs rise even higher than at Kuan-yin-shan. Here man has not interfered with Nature-there are no shrines, and the tall cliffs afford a nesting place to innumerable birds.
At Pakto, a large village on the left bank, the Yü-yuen or Lung-kwai River joins the main stream. This river flows down through a mountainous region inhabited by several large tribes of aborigines. An interesting account of the people will be found in
Dr. Henry's "Ling Nam," above referred to. The principal productions of the Lung- kwai district are maize, bamboo, and charcoal. In the bills above Pakto coal can be seen outcropping in many places; the deposits were formerly worked, but have now been abandoned.
At 1 P.M, we reached Shao-chou (locally known as Shiu-kuan), the principal city in Northern Kuangtung, and our destination on the present occasion. The "Robin ” anchored opposite the West Gate (on the left branch of the river) about half a mile above the ruined fort which lies at the junction of the two streams.
The prefectural city of Shao-chou is finely situated in the angle formed by the junction of the Ching or Clear River with the North River. The former stream leads to Lok-ch'eng and the Chi Ling Pass into Hunan; the latter to Nam-heung, and the Meiling Pass into Kiangsi. Both waterways, being impeded by rapids, are unnavigable
but light-draft junks.
for
any
Shiu-kuan has for centuries been an important Customs barrier: a bridge of boats stretched across the river on both sides facilitates the collection of duties.
From an intelligent employé of the native Customs (Ch'ang-kuan) I learnt that the receipts from both l-kin and native Customs have greatly fallen off during recent years, partly owing to the diversion of trade to the sea route, partly owing to the increased use of transit passes for articles such as kerosene oil and cotton yarn. My informant estimated the annual
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