178 Through the Yang-tse Gorges 



will give an idea of the astonishing cheapness of life in 

 this favoured province. An hour's hot ride brought us to 

 " Shih-ma Tsao " (" Stone-Horse Crib ") and the residence 

 of the Tungs. The ride in the morning sun had been a hot 

 one, and we were glad to rest in the cool courtyard of the 

 house. Breakfast was soon announced, at which my hosts 

 drank freely the hot wine, while I confined myself to tea : 

 my want of " wine-power " (chiu-liang) being a sad defect in 

 the Chinese eyes. It was nearly eleven before we made a 

 second start. We passed over a short " col," being the neck 

 of the serpent whose beneficent folds envelope the city land- 

 wards, while the opposing tortoise, in the shape of a 

 projecting crag on the opposite shore, completes the Feng- 

 shui and causes the prosperity of Chung-king; and soon 

 found ourselves approaching Fu-tu Kwan, or the barrier of 

 Fu-tu, which is a small walled city or fortress, commanding 

 the one land-road by which Chung-king is in communication 

 with the outer world. Its walls embrace the outlines of a 

 lofty scarped sandstone knoll, one of the many remnants 

 of the old sandstone plateau which must, at one time, have 

 covered the face of Eastern Szechuan. We ascend to the 

 gate by a steep slanting staircase up which my little pony 

 scrambles bravely, and ride through the fort. Its interior is 

 occupied by the usual narrow streets and mean houses 

 of a country town, but no trace of guns or garrison is 

 to be seen. Emerging on the west, we descend by another 

 staircase, and proceed along the great western road which 

 leads to Cheng-tu, the provincial capital. 



This road leads up and down over a steeply undulating 

 country, the hills being all richly cultivated to their summits. 

 The chief crops at this season were opium and tobacco, 

 the poppy predominating. In the narrow gullies minute 

 paddy-fields descend in terraces, and occupy the limited 



