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EAST ASIA.
back flow through the Tungting-ho emissary. During the floods the riverain
population forsake their villages, seeking a temporary refuge either on the surroundin-
hills or on the boats and rafts. From the Tung-ting are named the two
adjacent P rovinces of Hupeh and Hunan ; that is, North of the Lake " and " South
of the Lake " respectively.
Both in size, commercial and historical importance,
the chief affluent of the
Lower Yang-tze is unquestionably the Han-kiang, which presents a natural highway
of trade and migration between the two great arteries of the empire. In the
Han basin are also concentrated all the elements of a
prosperity temperate and
healthy climate, fertile soil, abundant water of good quality, an endlessly varied
flora, gypsum, marbles and other building materials from the neighbouring hills ;
lastly, rich carboniferous deposits. The Han is available for navigation nearly
throughout its whole course, and in summer might be ascended bjr steamers for a
distance of 600 miles. Even above Hanchung-fu, where it is a mere torrent, it
becomes navigable for boats during the floods ; but, on the other hand, its
middle course is obstructed by rapids, which cause frequent shipwrecks. Lower
down the channel stands at a higher elevation than the surrounding plains, and
here the villages are often built on broad terraces, resting against
the embank-
ments, and during the inundations forming artificial islands amid the surrounding
waters. The whole plain, stretching from Lake Tungting to the Han and
Yang-tze confluence, is at times converted into a vast inland sea, although in its
lower course the bed of the Han itself is narrower than higher up. At low water
in winter it is only 200 feet broad at Hankow, whereas it expands in its middle
course to 2,600 feet, and in some places even to 1 miles from bank to bank.
LAKE POYANG AND THE LOWER YANG-TZE.
Lake Poyang resembles the Tungting in its position south of a great bend of
the its Yang-tze, vast extent, its hydrographic system, and its importance for navi-
gation. It also receives a large influent, the Kia-kiang, whose alluvial delta is
seen at low water projecting far into the lake. Here also there is a back flow from
the Yang-tze, raising the level some 30 feet. Lake Poyang is studded with islands,
but many parts of the surface, some 1,800 square miles in extent, are little more
and here
than marshy forests of reeds. In the north, however, it is very deep,
the shores are fringed with wooded hills, headlands, and steep bluffs crowned with
the towers and pagodas of numerous towns and hamlets. The animation of the
picturesque prospect is enhanced by the numerous flotillas, rafts, and junks plying
on these busy waters. Near the outlet rises the " Great Rock of the Orphan,"
confronting the smaller but more elevated " Little Rock of the Orphan," which
stands on the Yang-tze itself over against the confluence. The water- fowl and schools
of porpoises which penetrate into the lake give it the appearance of a marine inlet,
and the resemblance is often heightened by the fierce storms to which it is subject.
Below Lake Poyang the Great River trends north-east across one of the most
pleasant landscapes in China. Here the current flows in its broad bed with a