The channel at Chan-chiang is being dredged to a depth of 50 feet enabling tankers of 70,000 tons to call.

I understand that peonism, a sort of penal servitude, exists there, or rather a sort of voluntary sale of a man and his offspring for debt

Ya'an is a refreshing mixture of Han Chinese tradition and modern Chinese peasant culture, with a dash of Tibetan influence.…Near Ya'an a monument once marked the traditional border between China and Tibet. This was an important trading post where Tibetans would exchange furs for guns and bricks of Chinese tea and today it still has the feel of a border town. The weather in Ya'an is relatively mild, but be prepared for an occasional snowstorm during the winter.

Then he ambles to his dressing room, where rugelach and carrot sticks sit on a coffee table for a postshow nosh.