To carry a stick in China for protection against dogs is like carrying a red flag to scare away bulls.
Dogs in China are lowly organised; they are not discriminating animals; and, despite the luxurious splendour of my Chinese dress--it cost more than seven shillings--dogs frequently mistook my calling.

In Szechuen, as we passed through the towns, there was competition among the inns to obtain our custom.

Hotel runners were there to shout to all the world the superior merits of their establishments.

But here in Yunnan it is different.

There is barely inn accommodation for the road traffic, and the innkeepers are either too apathetic or too shamefaced to call the attention of the traveller to their poor, dirty accommodation houses.
In Szechuen, one of the most flourishing of trades is that of the monumental mason and carver in stone.