142 



TEA DISTRICTS OF CHINA. 



Chap. VIII. 



After drinking the tea I wandered away along a 

 paved path that led me round the side of the moun- 

 tain, amidst vegetation which had been planted and 

 reared by the hand of nature alone. The Chinese 

 fir (Pinus sinensis) and a noble species of Abies 

 were the only trees of any size; but the path was 

 lined with many beautiful shrubs, among which the 

 Azalea was most conspicuous. It was spring-time, 

 and these charming flowers were just bursting into 

 bloom. I have often seen them highly cultivated in 

 England, and they certainly produce a most gor- 

 geous effect in our greenhouses and at our flower- 

 shows ; but my taste leads me to admire them more 

 when growing wild and free on the mountain side, 

 peeping out from amongst the brushwood, or min- 

 gling their glowing colours with other flowers and 

 gaining additional beauty by the contrast. 



My progress onwards was at last arrested by a 

 steep precipice where the walk ended, and on the top 

 of which a summer-house had been erected. I entered 

 the house, and sat down upon one of the benches 

 placed there for visitors. The view which I now 

 obtained was one of the grandest I had seen for 

 many a day. Above me, towering in majestic gran- 

 deur, was the celebrated peak of Koo-shan, 1000 feet 

 higher than where I stood. Below, I looked down 

 upon rugged and rocky ravines, in many places 

 barren, and in others clothed with trees and brush- 

 wood, but perfectly wild. To afford, as it were, a 

 striking contrast to this scenery, my eye next rested 

 on the beautiful valley of the Min, in which the 



