New Britain herald., 1928-03-02
FLOATING CITIES
 OVER IN CHINA
Many Children Are Born and
 Die Aboard Boats

Washington, D. C.. Mar. 1,--CNil- 4ren are born, grow up, marry anu carry on their life work aboard th' -anpans Of China's floating cities,
 Most of the great river cities O. .outhern and central China haNr such a floating population" but the boat dueIlers Of Shanghai and ''antou form large communities in lAemsnlves. 4 traveller of sufficient energy could laborolusly progress for miles by jumping from the deck Of one sampau 10 another.
 \ Race Into Themselves
 like the Dutch canal boat people, these river folk are a race unto themselves. apart from the common run Of their fellow men. Tn many cases their mode Of life has been handed down from father { 0 son for generations. When China's ,eeminc lcres became oyercroWded and eX pensiNe and a growing commerce demanded river transportation in even larger volume, many ingenious 'iiilFo' Apiiitt44Nb b '''17i4A''@ '@s' " ''''- economy and took to living aboard their tiny craft
 Although business might call far and wide along the numerous rivers and canals it was the large com nercial centers at the mouths of mighty streams that offered the most lively carrying trade. Hence these cities early became headQuar ters for the water dwellers.
 The riverrnan often made long voyages up country but he always came home to rooSt. Hence the dirty, evil smelling stretches Of river and back wash surrounding such centcrs IS Canton and Shang hai, and even around Hongkong and Singapore. became the native heath of an army Of sampan dwell ing Chinese. who from childhood have known no other life.
 Trade Affords Livelihood
 The visible means of support Of these communities is the carrying rade from wharf to wharf. and IOtu puih lV StN"i44'' c' JN'N' across river and up canals.
 Some sampans house petty mer- chants and peddlers who carry on a small trade in the necessaries Of life rom boat to boat wtnln the water colony itself. Occasionally a craft is filled to overflowing with huge white ducks which fatten in the daytime on the tidal mud flats or harvested fields and at night walk a gang plank back to their floating barn yard. They proceed, one by one, Tn auacking and pushing single file, each hurrying not to be the last duck aboard. The return home in the evenings is sometimes hastened, it is said, by giving the last duck q sharp crack with switch. The a"k- ward procession soon learns 'h- trick and comic tumult arises not 10 be the unfortunate tail oi the procession.
 San,pans Easy to Handle
 Chinese sampans are marVelousl5 asy to handle. being the product
  vironment. They dart like water spiders here and there among tue harbor traffic. clustering like parma Glcs around the great steamers an- chored offshore. With lightDine .wiftness they flee iu drores before ult approaching storm, each know ing as if by instinc, his own place i'll the quiet reaches oi sheltered wa ter. There is no mistake. no confu- sion, each bit falls unerrinely into place like gigantic picture puzzle When the high wind arrives each craft is in place. with not sanpan left over. or a vacant square of Wa ter big enough 10 hold one.
 Tn spite of the shifting needs oi commerce, family life aboard pro- al, albeit in rather more crampe1 quarters. Clothes. vegetables, Huc babies are washed side by side tr the stream and the cooking is done apoye a dulinutiye braZierlik" slave Growing children help with the iidnOlilE Ol Ilt i'CoJ rli'I ttA N' pi grandmothers in blue cotton ragged garments smoke long s'emmec pipes. AZ night all draw together and neighborly chatter from boat ft boat sounds like newly arrive' flock Of blach3irds. The river foll are poor but extremely cheerful, es- pecially over the evening meal.
 Lights from great liners shjn' across the haihor anr music iron an occasional caily- -fecktd pleasure barge floats from the mid stream clannel Tn few other places lurks Q strongly the spell Of the East T. 2 newly arrived foreigner 2 ride ashore in Lighted sampar through the swiftly passing myst"r- ias of river traffic IS the door tt romance.