Sianfu, Sept, 12.
A recent journey to the coast and back has given an opportunity for viewing a considerable section of North China. tu spite of floods and foes the country seen was prosperous fand peaceful. The express trains en the whole are eMeiently run and there was little to complain. about except that on some lines the car boys gendered very little service un-Jess there was the prospect of fat One wonders when the- Lunghai Railway is going to build a new tation at Chengchow. The present one adjoining the Chinghan Station must be one of the worst in China, There is no shelter from rain or dust and only one low platform about six fect wide. When two expresses are in at the same time at this narrow alighting place, the scene is pandemonium. The Lunghai Railway, how. ever, is to be complimented on the station buildings they are erecting en the Tungluan-Sian section, The one at Hunyin, which looks out on the magnificence of Huashan, is really beautiful, "Built in Chinese temple style with windballs and" curving roofs, vermilion pillars and golden Gragons, it strikes the traveller's eye with surprise and delight, This new section is still not properly ballasted and trains proceed very slowly, In the Pa valley where the floods were all summer, there have been some bad breaks'and it is said that the whole stretch just finished will have to be relaid, 'One of our fellow-passengers on the journey to Sian was Mr, Wang 'Yung-ping, Minister of Justice, who is inspecting the law' courts and prisons, He was on the platform at Lintung looking at the tomb. of Ch'in Shih-huang Ti in the distance and the famous baths which have been put in order under the care of the China Travel Service, For the Minister's sake we were cecelved at Sian by saluting soldiers and the strains of a military band, with our chi Mr, Shao Li-zu, on the The province is in a troubled st The whole of North Shensi, ence Yulinfu, is in the hands of to well below Yenan. When Ge Chiang Kai-shek was here Inst year he ordered Gen. Ching, who "had kept the peace more or less for 20 years, to move to Honan and the sult has been disastrous, During the summer Hau Hal-tung with his Communist forces moved out from the southern mountains, defeated some of Yang Hu's troops not far from Sian, travelled west avoiding the big cities, defeated "Moslem soldiers near Pingliang and is able how to unite with the Reds in the north. There is even a rumour that Ninghsia has been taken, It is dimcuit to understand what is happening. This Red leader g_s to have not more than 1,500 men and the Government troops in the north west number 200,000 at least. The Reds are well armed with modern weapons, How do they obtain tt end why are they allowed to wander where they please? Troops are still coming. in from the east, Vu Hsueh-chung's men have not pleased the people by commandeering rather rigorously and there have been one or two scraps with local troops. We understand a little better why the Japanese insisted on their departure from Hopel. would be interesting to know what the Red intentions. are—apparently they have gone north, for communications are open to Lanchow. It is said too that they are altering their ways in some respects and have issued notices guaranteeing religious
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.