To Ch'i-li-p'u, high up on the mountain banks, the first twenty-five li
is by the river. At the half-way place a fearful ascent is experienced,
the most notable precipice on the route between Sui-fu and Yuen-nan-fu,
up a broad zigzag path, and as I sat at dinner I could see neither top
nor bottom owing to the overhanging masses of rock: this is after having
negotiated an ascent quite as steep, but smaller. To Ta-kwan-hsien a few
natural obstacles occur, although the road is always high up on the
hill-sides. I crossed a miserable suspension bridge of two spans. The
southern span is about thirty feet, the northern span eighty feet; the
center is supported by a buttress of splendid blocks of squared stone,
resting on the rock in the bed of the river, one side being considerably
worn away by the action of the water. The longer span was hung very
slack, the woodwork forming the pathway was not too safe, and the
general shaky appearance was particularly uninviting.
From Ta-kwan-hsien to Wuchai is steady pulling. Once in an opening in
the hill we passed along and then ascended an exceedingly steep spur on
one side of a narrow and very deep natural amphitheatre, formed by
surrounding mountains.
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