Because this is the rainy season, the Yangtze has risen several feet and trees normally growing on dry land are seen standing in water. Elsewhere in China, over 500 people were reported yesterday to have died in flooded areas, but on the lower reaches of this river there is no fear of disaster.

The woman driver of the van stopped at a little restaurant and suggested lunch—in part, I suspect, because she worked on commission as a side-line. What was most interesting at this place was not the food, which was good and ordinary, but the well-tended vineyard, flowers, a huge red stone statue of the god of tea, the collection of teapots and accessories, and the pictures of blossoming flowers.

The entire circuit of the island took about three hours, and we again boarded the little ferry. Once on the crowded deck, I noticed a ladder leading to a smaller, upper deck. Having been a sailor of sorts for three years, my curiosity was aroused; with weak arms and legs, I managed to gain the upper deck.