Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1900-12-13

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. Hanlow Is the port
for the transshipment of goods for the
northwest along the Han and its trib-
utaries. All the region east of Ichang,
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 activi-
ties of millions of people. Travellers
become eloquent IN describing the eyi-
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 Yangtse, 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 1t is saying in other
parts of China that one never sees an
i'll dressed man in Szechuen. In fact,
Al, fs, In
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 limit
to the rainy season of the year, W 1e'
the floods are high. SZechuen can
ist upon its own products and mig
stand as an empire in itself. Besides
growing grain in abundance, the prov
ince 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
Yunnan, the third largest in the en-
pire Its mineral wealth is greater and
more varied than any other province,
but growth and enterprise were check
ed by the long rebellion of it's Moham-
10
From Yunnan eastward along the
southern belt of provinces the country
is generally mountainous, but innumer-
able streams make the region fertile.
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 Kwang, 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 Fukien, 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 Fuchau 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 \ hundred