Introductory: The Most Wonderful River in the World By Gretchen Fitkin terminus: Wuhu, where the foreigners have only just secured a concession and where newly developed iron, and coal mines present themselves as a factor in its life; Anking, which still surrounds itself with old China's barriers of reserve and permits no one to enter; Kiukiang, older and disappointed; Nanchang, below Poyang Lake, which is truly old China in all her superstitions and all her laborious hand methods of manufacture.
_The Wwhan cities are the next picture and they are full of action. Wuchang, for many years the nest of political intrigue and the nest of it now. Hankow, so beautiful and restful to the foreigner until the hot days of summer come when the mosquitoes themselves die off from heat. Hanyang, a miniature Pittsburgh with its smoking stacks and busy river-harbour and noise and dirt. A big, triple mart of lo that seems to handle everything and form a hub of China. Paper mills and cotton mills, the remains of past enterprise in tea, and newer enterprises in all manner of other things, Then the traveller goes aboard another steamer, not so big but twice as friendly, into more pioneer count Around the bend at Yochow where, in the old days, the best bamboo of China used to grow, but which is now poverty-stricken from frequent raids of lawless bandits and thinks no more of ancient glory. Across huge Tungting Luke and by the "remarkable tree' which grows up out of the surrounding water in defiance of Then Changsha, which is surprise in beauty, its dis: tinct character still preserved by the haughty Hunanese, its history of scholars and stalwart braves.
Tre Westward Macner.
The farther west one goes, the more the pull is westward. Up the northern bend of the Yangtze, Shasi. which looks submerged and wild, proclaims itself the very bor-doriand. But then Ichang appears, with its turmoiled harbour and busy shipping at the foot of the Gorges and itself the borderland. Into the Gorges, with the winds of the west in the traveller's face, he feels that it is the gateway at last, but on reaching Chungking, he finds that there is still more danger and romance and strange-if he will only go on_acress mist; Szechuan to the borderland fof Tibet and south to Yunnan. And, perhaps, then your traveller will give up in despair, because he knows that beyond that still is Burma and the Himalayas and
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.