Page:Ling-Nam; or, Interior views of southern China, including explorations in the hitherto untraversed island of Hainan (IA cu31924023225307).pdf/205

 At the Headwaters. 201

travelling by water becomes more difficult as we advance, the rapids and shallows being more frequent and obstructive, A walk of five miles over a well-paved road accomplishes our purpose better than the long, tedious journey by boat, and brings us to Tung-pi, the head of navigation, and the main centre of trade on the river. Jt isa large and important place, the residence of a town-ship officer. A broad substantial stone bridge spans the narrow stream high above the reach of floods. On the south side is the main portion of the town, a long street extending parallel with the river, showing many shops that weuld compare favourably with those of the larger cities in the south. An immense concourse of people gathers on market days, indicating a populous country surrounding. There are probably not less than 25,000 people in the plain that stretches around Tung-pi. Thirteen miles distant from this point is the first town, U-kwong-tau, in the Hunan province, at the headwaters of the river, that flows past the city of Kiang-wa. We are now at the extreme limit of our journey in this direction, the distance from Lien- chow being about sixty miles by water, but not, more than twenty-five by land. We have ascended the uplands gradually, so that in an easy half-day’s journey more the dividing ridge is passed, and the descent on the Yang-tsze side begun. We defer making this journey, however, until some future occasion, and, retracing our steps to ““Cormorant Beak” point, prepare to ascend the main branch of the Lien-chow stream to Sing-tsz.

This stream is nearly double the size of the one to Tang-pi, but is breken in much the same way by rapids and dams. For the first few miles we pass almost under