THE WORLD'S ANCIENT PORCELAIN CENTER 



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A BIRD S-EYE VIEW OE CHING-TEH-CHEN SHOWING SOME OE ITS CHIMNEYS 



chen is to proceed from Kiukiang to 

 Nanchang, the capital of the province, by 

 rail. This trip can be made in a day, 

 barring accidents, though the distance is 

 only 90 miles. In no respect an indus- 

 trial center, Nanchang has many wonder- 

 ful porcelain shops, all supplied by the 

 factories of the porcelain city. 



In prospect it did not seem a difficult 

 task to cover the distance between Nan- 

 chang and Ching-teh-chen, 120 miles, but 

 in realitv the trip required more time 

 than it takes to travel from San Francisco 

 to New York. One must cross the east 

 end of Po Yang Lake and then push his 

 way up the North River into the heart 

 of the mountains, to a point not far from 

 the Anhwei border. 



Traveling by a small and rickety steam- 

 launch, which was completely covered 

 with a cargo of human freight, we left 

 Nanchang, passed down the Kan River 

 and out across the lake. It was 8 o'clock 

 on a June morning and the thermometer 

 registered 90 degrees. 



We steamed merrily along until noon, 

 when we suddenly struck a mud flat. My 

 heart sank as numerous stories of people 

 stranded for several days in the middle 

 of this vast stretch of shallow water 

 flashed into my mind. 



Fortunately, we were running at half 

 speed, and after violently churning up the 



mud we were able to back off and strike 

 a new course, sounding our way until we 

 entered the mouth of the river leading to 

 Raochow, the most important city on the 

 lake. 



TRAVEL ON A CHINESE HOUSE-BOAT 



At Raochow (also spelled Juichow 

 and Jaochou) our house-boat experience 

 began. With the assistance of the water 

 police captain, we at once transferred to 

 a small but comfortable boat. It was not. 

 however, until after nearly an hour's de- 

 lay, due to the necessity of purchasing 

 some eggs, vegetables, and charcoal for 

 the journey, that Ave started upstream 

 against a swiftly running current, just as 

 the stars came out. 



The police captain had been informed 

 by wire of our coming and was waiting 

 for us with a guard. These guards are 

 stationed at intervals along the river in 

 "p'ao Ch'uan." or gunboats, and are sup- 

 posed to help in the collection of the 

 revenue tax and to protect travelers from 

 bandits. 



The single unarmed soldier who was 

 provided for our protection proved very 

 useful in steering the boat while the three 

 boatmen paddled, poled, and pulled our 

 craft up into the higher reaches of the 

 stream. 



All night long they worked, now and 



