The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-11-09

Cepl IN Tue south. 4~GdS nave Deen =
great curse to this region, and in some /
districts bikes and canals have been
constructed to redeem the soil. Else
where the land along the rivers has
been raised to bring it under cultiya-
ton. The rainfall along the plain has
been very uneven, and the same region
will suffer from drought for years
and then suddenly become almost I'M
inhabitable by reason of floods.
Central China, like the great plain,
is well supplied with canals, and for
merly the system Of waterways ex-i
tended from Tien-tsin to Canton down
the Grand canal to Chin-Kiang, then
along the Yang-tse to the intersections
of rivers coming in from the south.
The Yang-tse is to central and north
ern China what the Mississippi was to
the middle west and northwest before
the advent of railways. Goods are
brought by steamer from the coast to
Ichang and there transshipped in junks
to the limits of the great western prov
ince of Szechuen. Hankow is the port
for the transshipment of goods for the
northwest along the Han and it's trib-f
utaries. All the region east of Icl1ang,
along the Yang-tse valley, is densely
populated and contains innumerable
cities of wealth. Manufacturing and
trading in imports and exports with
the remote districts engage the actiyi-a
ties of millions of people. Travellers
become eloquent IN describing the evil
dences of prosperity along the great
river, but the interior is not less note
worthy for industry and plenty.
The extreme western province of
Szechuen, bordering upon Tibet and
inaccessible except along the shallow
upper waters of the Yang-tse,l sup
ports a population equal to that of the
whole United States upon an area
two-thirds as great as that of Texas.
Szechuen. from its geographical posi-
ton, would be called the wild west or
the hills, but it is a saying in other
parts of China that one never sees an
i'll dressed man in SZechuen. In fact,
the name Szechuen is the synonym for
plenty. as was the case With Califor-
MIA in the days of the golden harvest
Chung-king is the great commercial
city of Szechuen and the second trade
emporium of inland China, but it's
trade up the Yang-tse westward and
northward along the Kialing is limited
to the rainy season of the year, when
the floods are high. SZechuen can eN-
list upon its own products and might
stand as an empire in itself Besides
4.
irce raises good tobacco, silk, wax and
tea. Cotton is grown there, but not so
cheaply as it can be imported in yarn
from India. The plains of Szechuen
are higher than those along the Yang
tse eastward and may be compared to
the rolling prairies of Iowa
South of Szechuen is the province Of
1unnan. the third largest in the en-
pire. Its mineral wealth is greater and
more varied than any other province,
but growth and enterprise We're check
ed by the long rebellion of it's Mohanl-
medan inhabitants half q century ago.
From 1unnan eastward along the
southern belt of provinces the country
is generally mountainous. but innumer-
j apiC lldhc ltlc IGsSlOH IGTlilC-s
The poorest soil in the IS provinces is
in kwei Chau, the next northeast Of
Yunnan, but it is rich in minerals. Di-
rectly east of Yunnan lie the twin
provinces of twang. Kwang-Si and
kwang-Tung, or Kwang east and
Kwang west. Both have seaports and
are well watered. Canton. the capital
of Kwang Tung, is the largest city in
China. East of Kwang-Tung lies the
province of Fuliien. which upon an
area as large as that of Mississippi sus-
tains population one-third as large as
that of the whole United States The
. treaty ports OF F,uchau and Annoy are
among the chief cities of the province.
Among the coast belt of provinces
Chekiang is both southern and central.
1t does not quite reach TO the Yang- tse,
but is indented by the bay of Hang
Chow which is $50 miles long. The
splendid city of Hang Chow is at the
shores of the bay and is also the termi-.
nal of the Grand canal. a hundred