2 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



Hsien, in north-eastern Hupeh. This spur appears on maps 

 under the general name of Kiu-tiao shan (nine mountain ridges) , 

 Ta-pa Hng, or Ta-pa shan. The two latter names have direct 

 reference only to important peaks of the spur, and the first is 

 the most appropriate, since it denotes a series of parallel chains 

 closely packed together. The Kiu-tiao shan forms the boun- 

 dary between Szechuan and the northern provinces of Kansu 

 and Shensi, and is the watershed between the middle Yangtsze 

 and the Han River systems. Attaining its greatest altitude in 

 the neighbourhood of Chengkou Ting, long. io8° 30', lat. 32° 

 15' N. (approx.), it radiates from this climax buttress-like 

 spurs in all directions. Those on the south form the boundary 

 between Szechuan and Hupeh and extend downwards beyond 

 the Yangtsze River. Subsidiary spurs and others thrust out 

 from more easterly points of the range, make the whole of 

 north-western Hupeh exceedingly wild and rugged. In the 

 middle of the province the Yangtsze River has forced itself 

 through these spurs, which run at right angles to its course, 

 and formed the famous Yangtsze Gorges. 



Another spur, or rather series of spurs, not so clearly defined 

 as the preceding, and of less altitude, is thrown out in the 

 neighbourhood of Tali Fu, long. 100° E., lat. 25° 42' N. 

 (approx.), in western Yunnan. It extends across northern 

 Yunnan, southern Kweichou, and northern Kwangsi, and forms 

 the boundary between Hunan and Kiangsi on the north and 

 Kwangtung on the south. In eastern Kiangsi it is deflected 

 north and north-north-east, finally reaching the sea in the 

 neighbourhood of Ningpo, long. 121° 35' E., lat. 29° 50' N. 

 (approx.). This mountain system extends across some 21 

 parallels of longitude, and forms the watershed between the 

 Yangtsze River on the north and numberless rivers on the 

 south. Of these the Red River, reaching the sea in the Gulf 

 of Tongking, and the West River, which enters the sea near 

 Macao and Hongkong, are the chief. 



Innumerable lateral spurs are given off by this system, and 

 the country is extremely broken, especially in the western 

 parts, with which we are concerned. The province of Kwei- 

 chou is one mass of mountains, and the same is true of 

 southern Hupeh and southern Szechuan. In these three 



