January 22,
1906.]
Mr. E. W. Butter, Mr. W. J. Saunders, Mr. E. H. Sharp, K.C., Mr. A. H. Skelton, Mr. M. W. Slade, Dr. F. O. Stedman, Mr. A. G. Stokes, Mr. A. Brooke Smith, The Hon. Mr. T. Sercombe Smith, Mr. C. H. Thompson, Mr. A Turner, Mr. W. C. D. Turner, Mr. J. Y. V. Vernon, Mr. A. W. Whittal, Mr. H. P. White, Mr. W. H. Wickham, Mr. C. D. Wilkinson, Mr. E. C. Wilks, Commodore Williams, His Honour Mr. Justice Wise, and Dr. Bateson Wright.
HONGKONG TO PEKING.
AN INTERESTING JOURNEY.
"Had a good time?" This, or something like it, was the invariable salutation to a Hongkong gentleman just returned from a journey over the newly-opened Lu-han Railway. So much interest has been taken locally in his travels, that a Daily Press representative was instructed to interview the returned traveller, and thus to answer the enquiries ea bloc.
"Yes, it was a very interesting and, I think, instructive trip" he said. "I will say nothing of the familiar journey to Shanghai and Hankow by sea and river, except to mention that the river trip was more than usually pleasant. The new interest begins at the Hankow terminus of the ligne de Pekin a Hankow, division sud, of the Compagnie Imperiale des Chemins de Fer Chinois. Got that down?" he asked, with a twinkling eye.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
late hours anyway, and I had to be up soon to catch the 7.5 a.m. train on the next stage, to
33 Soui Ping Sien
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358 Si Ping Sien 380 Yeng Toheny Sien 408 Lin Ying Sien 434 Chu Toheon 455 Ho Shang Kio 474 Sin Tsen Sien 498 Sie Tsouang and 520 Tsen Tchenu, where we were due at thirteen o'clock. The ronte ran through hilly, picturesque country and it is on this stretch that there is the only tunnel on the whole line, a boring which takes about six or geven minutes to clear. The country all round (Hupeh and Honan) is given up to cotton culture. The various methods are primitive, such as have been followed for thousands of years. I suppos. Cotton growing has been greatly encouraged, I learned, by the making of the railway. It affords such excellent facilities for go'ting the crop to Haukow. Unfortunately, the plants thereabouts are far from healthy; stunted, sickly, and the buds smail. I sugges'ed to a Canalian mis- sionary up there that the intro luction of fresh seds from America might improve things, and he said he would try to got the Taotai to support a scheme for introducing these among the oultivators.”
"Yon encounter a good deal of French on this trip," he explained. "The line starts from the French Settlement at Hankow, the station being about five hundred yards behind the Astor House Hotel. And all the way along, at every station, everybody, including the Chinese, talks nothing but French. No English is spoken. The line, of course, was constructed by French and Belgian engineers; and I was told that they got a lot of assistants from the Jesuits. In the train, once or twice, I heard a French conductor airing a word or two of English, like sir' and 'soap,' words which did not conduce to conversational brillianoy. It was November when I begin the journey. We left Hankow at eight in the morning-Hankow Ville, There are three stations, by the way, Han (the Chines city) Hanko Ville, and Hankow Fluvial. Once entrained, there is nothing to be had to drink, except water and Chinese tea, until Peking is reached. Not even aerated waters. Well, to get on. After running through the province of Hupeh for half the day, passing a station almost every twenty or thirty kilométres, we come to Kouang Choei. Perhaps you had better take a list of the stations for reference. I don't know that they have appeared in the press before. They are (the figures represent le point kilom trique.'):-
0 Han
5 Hankow Ville
9 Hankow Fluviale
22 Niskow
42 Ki Kia Wang ·
61- San Kia Pou 74 Chiao Kan Sien 88 Tsion Kia Kan 108 Hoa Yon 124 Wang Kia Tien · 153 Kouang Chosi 166 Tong Houan Tien 180 Sin Tien
186 Li Kia Trai 196 Li-ou Lin
218, 8in Yang Tcheou
241 Tsang Tai Konang
257 Ming Kiang 274 Sin Chang Tien 294 Toho Sang Sien
313 Tahu Ma Tien.
"Did you have any trouble with currency, snah as other travellers speak of ?"
baggage along the sands to the train. This was to save about two hours. We did it, and I had the not very exhilarating exercise of trotting another mile and a half through shift- ing sand, with the thermometer at freesing point or thereabout. I should herd mention that for the orossing we had a "lucky day." It took three hours, whereas it often takes six. We had to take another construction train now. There is no sign of a station on the Peking sida of the river, and our car was simply a luggage waggon. All were packed in together, and, possibly being excited with so many thrilling experiences, I remember thinking that I ought to have a label pasted on me, and be wheeled along the Peking platform by a porter, Seriously, we suffered this inconvenient vehicle for two hours only, after which we were trans- ferred to a proper ear again. All the way, I may tell you, I met with nothing but politeness from the natives, and I do not think foreigners need fear any sort of molestation at all, even
At with the journey so broken up as mine was. present, or then, at anyrate, we could book through from Haukow to the river, but on the north side, we had to re-book each morning. At Sin Siang Sion, where we slept, I experienced one of the great dust storms for which that part of the world is so notorious. I suppose blows from the miles of dry danes that line the Yellow River. It was a painful trial for eyes and lungs and temper. The country was now flat and uninteresting, windswept, the laud onltivated in quaint old-fashione ways (I saw a wooden plough drawn by an ox and an ass yoked together), and the inhabitanta were poor and apparently apathe io. Many of them did not even turn their heads to look at the train. The next stop was at Shunte-fou, on the old section, which we reached at half-past seven- teen. Next day (the fifth of my wanderjahr, so to speak) we got to Peking, at a quarter tʊ Now, about the currency nineteen o'clock.
I was told at Han- question, as you asked me. kow that it was necessary to take Mexican dollars, but not wishing to be weighed down with a load of metal such as that would involve, I made further enquiries, and was told that Peking notes would answer after Hupeh. Alas! They did not, and I was in a quandary very soon. I met a Belgian engineer in the midst of this worry, and got him to explain to the station officials that these Peking notes were good. He seemed to be giving the whole history of banking from the beginning of time, and the officials were much impressed. The impression was not the one desired, however, and my good Samaritan had to rescue me in another way. He hunted" round and found a man who could give me Mexicans for my notes. It was a trouble to me that I could not fraternise with him over a social glass; some day, when China is overran with railways, replete with Smith's bookstalls and Spiers and Pond's buffets, I may pass that way again, and, if my Belgian friend is still in the neighbourhood, I will signify my gratitude in the usual manner. As it was, it might have Mexican dollars are been very awkward. accepted everywhere, and that without discount or squeeze of any kind. The Chinese them selves in those parts did not rise above copper cash. I was surprised to see men walking about with strings of it, haggling over prices, and then counting off the amount in cash. But there was also a tremendous amount of copper cents, ten cash pieces nominally, but of different mintage and value in each province. The scene at Peking station was like pandemonium. Each passenger is attacked and surrounded by a meb of howling coolies. I was glad when the man from the Hotel des Waggons Lits. disentangled me, ani took me to that splendidly equipped and nobly served hostelry. It is the best in the Far East."
"I did, indeed. It was a great trouble. In Hupeh province, both notes (Hupeh) and Mexican dollars are acopled, but beyond, there was continual annoyance. I will tell you about that, however, when we get there. At Teen Tcheon we had to change and get into a con- struction car; this, of course, will not be necessary when the line is quite finished. I forgot to mention that at every station you may buy an abundance of various kinds of fruit, which compensates to a certain extent for the dearth of liquid refreshments.
I noticed pears, pomegranates, grapes, persimmons, and very fine pea-nuts. An hour's ride on the construc tion train brought us to China's sorrow, the famous Yellow River. We had then about a third of a mile to walk to get to the bridge. I was told I might walk over the bridge, and started to do so. My coolies went leaping merrily over with my hargag, but when I found that the men were still at work on the bridge, which is nearly two miles long, and that they had left gaps of four and fire fret over which I was expected to jump, and when I looked at the rushing torrent far beneath, I turned back, preferring to cross by boat I re raced my steps, or rather jumps, two or three hundred yards, and waded through a mile of soft sand to find one of the light Chinese boats by which the crossing is made. Each has a crew of about a dozen men and into the midst of these, I, my boy, and baggage were bundled, The crossing was a very interesting process, and thoroughly Chinese in character. First they punted, four on each side, working hard against a very strong tide. After half-an-hour of this, I looked for the bridge, and was startled to see it looking very small away in the distance. The tide then became stringer than ever, and the punt-poles had to be hauled inboard. The men then took two strong anchors, each with a stout rope attached, and threw one into the water, ahead of the boa', soon as the anchor gripped bottom, the boat swung, and, by a clever performance with the rudder, they made it swing in the desired direction. At the psychological moment, when the impetus is almost conquered by the current they throw the other anchor ahead, at the sme time snatching up the one already dowu. This is repeated over and over aguio, and yard by yard (for it is not a quick mode of travel) they fight their way to shoal water. Along this shoal, about a third of a mile long, with barely sufficient water to float us, they allowed the boat to drift. and took rest and refreshment after their arduous exertions. Before the end of the shoal, having spared one eye from their chow to watch it, they began to punt again, and when close enough to the opposite shore men jumped out and took tow ro es. They would have towed us back to the bridge, or to the point nearest the line, but my boy suggested that we could save time by going ashore and biring coolies
"You get to the last-named place, by the way, at about two minutes past nineteen o'clock, French time-table. We changed train at Kou- aug Chori, and passed through the next station at 33 minutes past 13 or thereabouts. There was a semi-foreign hotel at Tohu Ma Tien, where the attendance was very good-boys from Shanghai who could speak a little English. Although the trains so far were very comfort- able, the first-class cars having heating appa- rains, aut being comfortably upholstered in American cloth, I was quite glad to go to bed about twenty-three o'clock-I do not believe in
to
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"What? Better than the
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"Well, may be not so big and grand, but it is more comfy. I will call it second-best, if you like."
To a remark about the likelihood of tourists being attracted to the route described, our voyageur said he had heard that the Americans were already finding it out, and making uw of it. He sees a great future for it.
A Chinese body was found in Gilman Street, opposite No. 23, on Thursday. The osuso ef death was plague. This is the first case for the carry our year.
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