Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T16:15:53.543Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

CHAPTER II

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2010

Get access

Summary

About the middle of April, in the year of grace one thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven, I was asked by Sir Roderick Runnimede to make one in a party of two, on a proposed journey to the rapids, gorges, and glens of the upper waters of the Yangtze. It was not a scientific excursion, there were no new countries to discover, no new people to trot out before the world, no new trade routes to open up; it was simply an excursion for health and pleasure combined, to wander anywhere and everywhere our fancy should lead or our caprice should guide, to explore some small portion of this wild romantic country, and in short to have a good and pleasant time generally.

It is seldom more than once in a lifetime that any ordinary mortal who has drifted on to the eastern coast of China has an opportunity of visiting the recesses of the vast Chinese empire; so, without the slightest hesitation, I at once accepted the offer. In three minutes the whole matter was settled, and in less than a week we were off.

Late one Saturday evening, at the time abovementioned, I followed my baggage up the ‘bund,’ bound for the steamer that was to take us over the first part of our trip, and which was lying securely moored off the Taku jetty. She was a fine boat, and coolies were busily engaged ‘Ahhoing!’ and carrying bales and packages to stow away in her capacious hold.

Type
Chapter
Information
Land of the Dragon
My Boating and Shooting Excursions to the Gorges of the Upper Yangtze
, pp. 31 - 72
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010
First published in: 1889

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×