It is all very confusing and irrotating. Just fancy, if in England or the United States one had to get a separate licence and a special visa for each county or state, and then was called upon to produce them at least half a dozen times a day. But that is what you must expect, if you go motoring in China.
Ferries are a great nuisance, owing to the time one has to for them. The charge varies in the different provinces from nothing to $1 or even $20. Make sure that the terrymen place the planks exactly as you want them, and not es they think will do, and go up and down on to the ferry dı slow and with your hand-brake ready to stop at a moment's notice. My remarks do not include the Ming-ong ferry which is in a class all by itself. eae On my return I was frequently asked what I had done about supplies, Well, 1 myself did nothing; the Asiatic Petroleum Company did it all for me. Before leaving gave them a rough schedule of my tour and the larger towns I expected to pass through, and they gave me a list of the places where their agents had supplies or where they could arrange to lay down stocks. There are no filling-stations on any of the motor roads, as in Europe or America, and the bus stations, with rare exceptions, will not sell you any of their stocks. As a matter of fact, I only once ran cut of petrol on the road, and that, as I have described in my account of the trip, was partly due to carelessness on my part in neglecting warnings, and partly to miscalculation, as I had not reckoned on such long and heavy climbing in that particular section. The question of petrol supplies is not as formidable as it sounds. Only in very rare cases is the distance between the larger places where one can buy "gas" more than 400 miles—mostly under 200—and for that, if one's var even does only twelve miles to the gallon, one can usually carry enough along with one. I carried 35 gallons (twelve in the tank ana ihe rest inside the car) without having to use the running-boards. sss "But how did you find your way on the road?" people asked me wonderingly, when I said that I had not lost my way on the whole of the 5,000 miles. I had to stop and think a moment before replying, because, once I had settled the difficult problem of the route, finding the way never gave me any further trouble, The only reply I can make is the obvious one "Well, the way, if you are in any And even that you do not have to do very often, for you can hardly go wrong once you are on a highway between two cities, as branch roads are few and far between, and the few there are, are well marked or clearly recognizable as such. The only time you have any difficulty is in leaving or passing through the larger towns, The raajority of roads are so well-frequented, that you will seldom £o a mile without passing some kind of habitation, some vehicle or pedestrian. Of course, you must have some kind of map; I had a large number with me.
The Automobile Club of China, the oil companies and the Chekiang Tourist Bureau publish maps show-ıng motor roads in Kiangsu, Chekiang, Anhui and Kiangsi. But I know of no foreign maps showing the motor roads beyond there, If you can read Chinese, the problem is simple, as there are several quite good Chinese maps. The best general map in Chinese is the New Map of China 1936, published by the Commercial Press, which shows the motor roads with a remarkable degree of accuracy, if perhaps somewhat too optimistic. There also separate maps of each province—some very good indeed—and the maps issued by the different provincial road bureaus; but these latter are not on sale and are difficult to obtain, As many of the highways are marked with numbers all along the route, I presume that the Chinese Government intends issuing one day a road map and motoring guide, The sooner they do it the better, cee Accommodation is rather a problem in the still undeveloped state of motor travel in China, In all the larger towns and at the well-known mountain resorts there are quite good hotels (Huangsh Nanchang, Hengshan, Kwo: Kweiyang, Yünnanfu, Chungking und Omeishan). At the intervening stages I had either to make the best of the local inn or even bus station, or where there were missionaries, threw myself on their never-failing hospitality. A camp-bed and bedding are essential, If you are travelling in your own car, the food question is comparatively simple, as you can take along as much as you want. I had a large basket with stores—not to forget the invaluable "solidified heat"—and a small basket for plates and knives and whatever required for the midday meal by the roadside. A thermos—better still, two—is essential, Regarding clothes it depends on the time of year and the region you are visiting. But two points are important: firstly always be prepared for wet weather and have an umbrella handy; secondly wear your old clothes in the car, as they will certainly get soiled. see Finally a few words of general advice:—Check everything yourself before starting each day and do not trust the chauffeur: water in the radiator, engine oil, petrol and tyres. The latter require checking at least once towards midday, as they expand after a long run, and if not let down, you are liable to get a burst tyre.
Do not stop to ask any official person for information (police, soldiers or bus-station people). Not only will you get none, but you will at once be held up with questions and demands for inspection of papers ete. 4 Sound your horn at all corners; the other fellow doesn't, Go slow through villages and where there are people on the road ahead; they are liable to jump across from one side to the other in front of the car, if only: "to cut off their devil."
Remove your spare wheel and all other loose parts every night and put them inside the car which should be locked; otherwise you are liable to lose them.
Do not take all the stories you hear about bandits too seriously. On the other hand, if you get a warning from some really responble source, make sure before you go on. Do not travel at night in the wilder. districts, if you cam avoid it.
Discount by 50 per cent, all you are told about distances and the state of the road, unless your ins formant has been over it himself recently.
Try and keep your temper as much as possible, I do not offer this advice for the reasons usually urged, but solely for considerations of health, Indeed, it is quite untrue, as some people will tell you—including, I believe, the handbook of the Automobile Club of China—that you only do harm by losing your temper. On the contrary, a sudden outburst will often prove surprisingly effective. But on a trip of this kind you will have occasion io lose your temper at least half a dozen times a day, and will soon be worn out.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.