Mountain coolies on the road were passing in single file through the inn, their backs bending under their huge burdens.

Pigs and fowls and dogs, and a stray cat, were foraging for crumbs under the table.

Through the open doorways you saw the paddy-fields under water and the terraced hills, with every arable yard under cultivation.

The air was hot and enervating.

"The country of the clouds," as the Chinese term the province of Szechuen, does not belie its name.