We entered Chungyang at dusk, meeting some camels, a very unusual sight in these parts, just as we entered the gate. We had searcely seen a soldier since leaying Wuchang, but found a few here, though only a few, as most of the garrison had gone on to Yochow for the Hunan troubles. Chungyang is a dilapidated town, which like P'uch'i, suffered badly at the hands of the southerners three years ago. Thirty years ago it was a centre for the tea trade and had a few Russians living there. Since then. the tea trade has fallen on evil times, the Russians have long since gone and the old tea hongs turned into other uses.
A day's heavy rain there gladdened the farmers for, like the rest of us round here, they were suffering from the prolonged drought. The following day we started off for Tungcheng, 90 7i away and not far from the Hunan border. The road here is pretty, but much more level and lack' in the grandeur of tthe previous stages of the journey. One of the characteristic features of this neighbourhood are the large irrigation water wheels. These are to be found by the river, and are about 40 to 50 feet in diameter. The river is dammed at a suitable point, where the bank is high, and a narrow stream of water turns the great wheel, upon which are fastened oblique boxes into which the water rushes and when the wheel turns and the boxes come to the top they automatically discharge their contents into a long trough, which conveys the water into the irrigation channels between the fields. Thus at a small initial expense the wheel is erected, and works night and day untended, bringing fertility to quite a large area.
Shaping is a large street more than half way to Tungcheng, and there we found a garrison of soldiers. Pushing on from there we reached Tungcheng just at dark, and crossed a very fine stone bridge at the entrance of the town. This bridge is certainly one of the finest to be found in this province. It is fully 10 feet wide, with a span of nine arches, and is very substantially built of granite. We had previously crossed quite a number of smaller bridges, many of stone, and in good condition, granite being abundant in this neighbourhood.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.