A Part Of
The Water Of The Wanho Descends Toward The Hoangho And Gulf Of Pechihli;
The Larger Part Runs
South in the direction of the Yangtse." The Grand
Canal links Hangchow, a port on the East China Sea, south
Of the Yangtse,
with Tientsin in Chihli, where it unites with the Peiho, and thus may be
said to extend to Tungchow in the neighborhood of Pekin. When the canal
was in order, before the inflow of the Yellow River failed, there was
uninterrupted water communication from Pekin to Canton, and to the many
cities and towns met with on the way. For many years past, however, and
especially since the carriage of tribute-rice by steamers along the coast
began, repairs of the Grand Canal have been practically abandoned. The
roads in China, confined generally to the northern and western sections of
the country, are described as the very worst in the world. The paving,
according to Baber, "is of the usual Chinese pattern, rough bowlders and
blocks of stone being laid somewhat loosely together on the surface of the
ground; 'good for ten years and bad for ten thousand,' as the Chinese
proverb admits. On the level plains of China, where the population is
sufficiently affluent to subscribe for occasional repairs, the system has
much practical value. But, in the Yunnari mountains, the roads are never
repaired; so far from it, the indigent natives extract the most convenient
blocks to stop the holes in their hovel walls, or to build a fence on the
windward side of their poppy patches.
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