Chap. IV. IMPORTANCE OF TUN-CHE. 



83 



a little wit by experience, took good care to keep all 

 these matters to themselves, their great object being 

 to cut off all connection between their friends in the 

 boat and those with whom we might have to associate 

 afterwards. 



Our passage-money was now fully paid up, our 

 luggage packed, and an arrangement made between 

 my two men with regard to the station to which we 

 were bound. When this was all arranged I left the 

 coolie in charge of the luggage, took Wang on shore, 

 and walked onwards to Tun-che, which we reached 

 between three and four o'clock in the afternoon. It 

 is a thriving, busy town, and forms as it were the 

 port of Hwuy-chow-foo, from which it is distant about 

 twenty miles. It is situated in lat. 29° 48' N., and 

 in long. 2° 4' E. of Peking. All the large Hang-chow 

 and Yen-chow boats are moored and loaded here, the 

 river being too shallow to allow of their proceeding 

 higher up, and hence it is a place of great trade. 

 Nearly all the green teas which are sent down the 

 river to Hang-chow-foo, and thence onward to Shang- 

 hae, are shipped at this place. The green teas des- 

 tined for Canton are carried across a range of hills to 

 the westward, where there is a river which flows in 

 the direction of the Poyang lake. 



This part of the country is very populous. Nearly 

 the whole way from the place where we had left our 

 boat was covered with houses, forming a kind of 

 suburb to Tun-che. This place itself is supposed to 

 contain about 150,000 inhabitants. The great article 

 of trade is green tea. There are here a number of 



g 2 



