EASTERN SZECHUAN 73 



weighs less than 2 lb. ; in string-cash the same equivalent 

 weighs over 8 lb.! If there is one reform more badly needed 

 than another in China it most certainly is in the matter of 

 currency. 



Leaving Taning Hsien by way of the west gate we made 

 a slight ascent and entered a narrow, highly cultivated valley, 

 flanked on our right by fairly high and on the left by lower 

 mountains, nearly treeless and sparsely cultivated. The town 

 of Taning lies in a depression, and the morning mists obscured 

 the general view. It is a very small place, with much of the 

 land enclosed within its walls given over to cultivation. An 

 outer gate, wall, and block-house guards the west gate proper. 



Ascending the valley by an easy road which more or less 

 skirts a fairly large tributary stream of the Taning Ho, we 

 reached the village of Che-tou-pa before noon. Rice was 

 abundantly cultivated everywhere, irrigation being effected 

 by means of large " Persian " wheels. Much cotton is culti- 

 vated following wheat, the winter crop. Maize was 5 feet 

 tall and in full flower. Paliurus orientalis, a thin tree 30 to 

 50 feet tall, is very common, and was laden with white, 

 circular, odd-looking fruits. Weeping Willows, Cj^ress, and 

 fine specimens of a hairy-leaved, small-fruited Hog Plum 

 [Spondias) were noteworthy, with Bamboo groves in abundance. 



On leaving Che-tou-pa we deserted the main tributary 

 stream and ascended a small branch. The valley narrows, 

 and the hills are more wooded, chiefly with C3rpress. The road 

 is easy, though here and there sadly in need of repair. We 

 journeyed slowly, and eventually crossed over a ridge of low 

 hills to the hamlet of Lao-shih-che, which we reached at 

 5 p.m. This tiny place, alt. 1950 feet, and 55 li from Taning 

 Hsien, consists of half a dozen houses, scattered through a 

 narrow valley with rice fields on all sides. The people were 

 very nice, but inquisitive. 



We were on the edge of the Red Basin and much of the 

 soil had the characteristic red colour. Wood Oil trees are 

 commonly cultivated, but cotton was not in evidence dm'ing 

 the afternoon. In a grove I noted some magnificent trees of 

 Pistacia chinensis and Sapindus mukorossi. The young shoots 

 of the former are cooked and eaten, but the round fruits of 



