Page:A wandering student in the Far East vol.1 - Zetland.djvu/216

156 the town a huge Buddha, 304 feet in height, is carved crudely on the cliff, while in dim outline in the distance, looming faintly through the mist, I could just make out the far-famed summit of Mount O-mei, the sacred mountain of Western China.

The town wears an undeniable air of prosperity, and indeed there is said to be much money in the place, many of the rich salt-well owners making it their place of residence. It is also the centre of the white wax industry, and in a large warehouse I saw huge stacks of circular white cakes resembling small millstones. It is used chiefly for candle-making and paper-glazing, though it is also employed in a variety of minor ways—as a coating for medicinal pills, for instance.

Silk is another large industry, and is said to be good and cheap. Large shops open into the streets, in which the weavers may be seen at work. The pay of the workmen is 1 tael cent (d.) a foot, and a skilful weaver will do 10 feet in the day, earning 4d. in addition to his board. German aniline dyes are used for colouring the silks, and tins of