204 TEA DISTRICTS OF CHINA. Chap. XI. 



and do not arrive at their destination in as good order 

 as those carried in the other way. 



The route we pursued was now in all respects 

 a highland road. At one time we were passing 

 through a beautiful valley, at another our road wound 

 round the mountain side, and frequently it boldly 

 breasted the hill, and led us over into another valley 

 beyond. As we went over the passes we always 

 rested while on the highest point, from which we 

 obtained a view, not only of the valley through which 

 we had come, but also of that to which we were 

 going. The long trains of coolies laden with chests 

 of tea and other produce, and with the mountain 

 chairs of travellers, presented a busy and curious 

 scene, as they toiled up the mountain side, or were 

 seen winding their way through the valleys. These 

 were views of " China and the Chinese " as they are 

 seen in everyday life. 



After leaving the town of Yuen-shan we entered a 

 large tea-growing country. The shrubs were dotted 

 on the lower sides of all the fertile hills. Some- 

 times they were growing on level land, but that was 

 invariably dry, well drained by its position, and much 

 higher than rice-ground. The soil of these plan- 

 tations consisted of a red-coloured loam mixed with a 

 considerable portion of gravel and sand. Many of 

 the tea-farms had been but lately formed, and the 

 cultivation of the shrub in this district is evidently 

 on the increase. Tea grown and manufactured here 

 can of course be conveyed to the great export marts 

 of Shanghae and Canton much quicker and more 



