42 
WANDERINGS IN CHINA. 
Chap. II. 
water, while at others rocks reared their heads high above 
the stream, and bade defiance to its rapid current. 
The whole country was hilly, and the distant moun- 
tains, varying in height from three hundred to three 
thousand feet, were peaked, ridged, and furrowed in a 
most remarkable manner. Altogether the views were 
most charming, and will long remain vividly impressed 
upon my memory. 
On the 29th and 30th of October we passed the towns 
of Tsa-yuen, Tsasa-poo, Kang-koo, and Shang-i-yuen, all 
places of considerable note, particularly the last, which 
must contain at least 100,000 inhabitants. Opposite 
to the town of Tsa-yuen there is a curious-shaped hill, 
which is composed chiefly of granite of a beautiful green- 
ish colour, much prized by the Chinese. The slabs 
which are quarried out of the hill are used for various 
ornamental purposes, but they are more particularly in 
demand for the building of tombs. Large quantities are 
taken down the river to Yen-chow and Hang-chow for 
this purpose. 
The tea-plant was now frequently seen in cultivation 
on the hill sides, this being the outskirt of the great 
green-tea country to which I was bound. Large cam- 
phor-trees were frequently seen in the valleys, particu- 
larly near the villages. Tallow-trees were still in exten- 
sive cultivation, and at this season of the year, being 
clothed in their autumnal hues, they produced a striking 
effect upon the varied landscape. The leaves had 
changed from a ^ht-green to a dark blood-red colour. 
But the most beautiful tree found in this district is a 
species of weeping cypress, which I had never met with 
