The Red Basin of Szechuan 261 



as the "Yao-tsa Ho." This basin of the Yao-tsa Ho 

 is to-day a wide depression, filled with low scattered 

 rock-piles, in the midst of a surrounding mass of lofty pre- 

 cipitous limestone mountains which lie on its flanks at a very 

 gentle inclination. These extend eastwards to the mouth 

 of the Ichang gorge, dipping under the sandstone and coarse 

 conglomerate which form the outlying spurs of the range. 

 The city of Ichang stands upon this conglomerate, which, 

 with its superincumbent sandstone, dips in its turn under, 

 and is lost in the alluvial plain, which begins about fifty 

 miles further down. West of the " Yao-tsa Ho " basin we 

 again traverse the limestone until, on the other side, it meets 

 and is lost under the new red sandstone plateau of Szechuan. 

 As we ascend the river further, we meet, however, with fresh 

 cross ranges of the same limestone formation, upon the flanks 

 of which the inexhaustible coal seams of the province lie 

 conveniently tilted. 



Above and beyond Kwei-chow fu we enter the red basin 

 of Richthofen, where the river traverses the vast new sand- 

 stone formation of Eastern Szechuan in a ravine cut down 

 1000 feet or more below the surface. Here, owing to the 

 softer nature of the rock, the rapids are less violent, although 

 we have always a fierce current to contend against. These 

 conditions prevail until we reach the fork of the Yang-tse 

 at Su-chow,* where on the one hand we meet the " Kin-sha " 

 River, flowing as a mountain torrent through inaccessible 

 gorges, and on the other the " Min," which, though the smaller 

 stream, appears to be regarded by the Chinese as the true 

 " Kiang " — probably in view of its greater navigability, while 

 the Kin-sha sweeps round the Mountains of the Sun, in- 

 habited by the wild Lolo tribes, and is useless for traffic. 

 By the fork of the Min River we ascend in light-draft boats 

 * Not to be confounded with Soochow, near Shanghai, 



