4 
which is scarcely relieved even on closer investigation by the scanty 
vegetation of shrubs and small trees which clothes the steep sides of 
the ravines through which the mountain torrents rush down to the 
beach. i 
If the province is entered by way of Canton there has first to be 
£X 
Orange and Persimmon, fields of Maize and Suear Cane, Hemp and 
Ramie, groves of Danana or Fan Palm stretching luxuriantly before 
the eye, line beyond line, up to the horizon. 
eyond these coastal plains commence the irregular systems of 
rugged mountains which eventually culminate along the northern 
boundaries of the province. The latter follow roughly the 
plains and the northern affluents of the turbid Han, which falls into the 
sea near Swatow. The sources of the East River, a i 
in the province. Elsewhere the ranges seldom exceed 3,000 feet, 
though isolated peaks rise here and there one or two thousand feet 
mysterious highlands, where no white man has been. In most parts 
of the mountains the bold rounded outlines indicate granitic forma- 
tions. In the limestone districts these give place to the rugged 
crags and fantastic shapes, so often portrayed in Chinese pictorial 
art 
So far as it has been explored, the coast, centre and north-west 
of the province are fairly well known and good descriptions of the 
scenery are available. The southern portion on the other hand is 
practically unknown to Europeans, with the exception of the 
immediate neighbourhood of Kwangchow, Pakhoi, and a few other 
sea ports where traders have resided, 
