The City of Kiang-peh 1 7 1 



join them. I may here mention that Mr. Wang is a 

 member of one of the leading Catholic families of the 

 place, and that, kind as were all the Chung-king people 

 with whom I came in contact, there is no doubt that 

 honcL-fide Christians, such as those, do entertain a fellow- 

 feeling towards us. From this point the wall, turning 

 eastwards, follows the crest of the ravine of the Siao Ho 

 (small river), or, as it is called in the maps, the Kia ling 

 river. This stream, which has its sources in Kansu and 

 Honan, has a deep and rapid current of about half the 

 bulk of the main river ; but, unlike the latter, at the time 

 of my visit its waters were pellucid green. It separates 

 the city of Chung-king proper from its northern suburb 

 of " Kiang peh Ting " (" City North of the River "). This 

 much-walled city is under the separate jurisdiction of a 

 "Ting," intermediate in rank between a "Fu" and a 

 " Hsien." The walled enclosure contains many picturesque 

 temples and ofificial residences, the business suburb lying 

 below on the Yang-tse side, where there is a good natural 

 harbour, formed by a fine ledge of rocks, which divides 

 it from the main current. It is either here, or else at 

 Lung-men Hao, across the main river and opposite the 

 Tairping Gate, that we find the best site for the Foreign 

 Concession, the opening of which Chung-king is now (in 

 1898) still anxiously awaiting. 



Continuing our walk along the wall, with the deep valley 

 of the Siao River on our left, and the narrow, thronged streets 

 of the busy city immediately on our right, at a point where 

 the sandstone cliff falls perpendicularly some two hundred 

 feet, between the street and the battlements, stands the 

 spacious native residence which has just been purchased 

 for the American Methodist Mission. The large sum, 

 for these parts, of three thousand taels was the price paid. 



