affluents (it is said to have 72 tributaries) rise in Ho-nan. The main
river flows through the centre of Ngan-hui, in which province it
receives from the N.W. the Sha-ho, Fei-ho and other important
affluents. Formerly it received through the Sha-ho part of the waters
of the Hwang-ho. The Hwai-ho flows into the Hungtso lake, through
which it feeds the Grand Canal, not far from the old course of the
Hwang-ho, and probably at one time joined that river not far from its
mouth. It has a length of about 800 m. and is navigable from the point
where it leaves the hill country of Ho-nan to Lake Hungtso. It is
subject to violent floods, which inundate the surrounding country for
a distance of 10 to 20 m. Many of its tributaries are also navigable
for considerable distances.

Grand Canal.

Next in importance to the Yangtsze-kiang as a water highway is the
Yun-ho, or, as it is generally known in Europe, the Grand Canal. This
magnificent artificial river reaches from Hang-chow Fu in the province
of Cheh-kiang to Tientsin in Chih-li, where it unites with the Peiho,
and thus may be said to extend to Tung-chow in the neighbourhood of
Peking. According to the itineraries published by Pere Gandar, the
total length of the canal is 3630 _li_, or about 1200 m. A rough
measurement, taking account only of the main bends of the canal, makes
its length 850 m. After leaving Hang-chow the canal passes round the
eastern border of the Tai-hu or Great Lake, surrounding in its course
the beautiful city of Su-chow, and then trends in a generally
north-westerly direction through the fertile districts of Kiang-su as
far as Chin-kiang on the Yangtsze-kiang. In this, the southern
section, the slope is gentle and water is plentiful (from 7 ft. at low
water to 11 ft., and occasionally 13 ft. at high water). Between
Su-chow and Chin-kiang the canal is often over 100 ft. wide, and its
sides are in many places faced with stone. It is spanned by fine stone
bridges, and near its banks are many memorial arches and lofty
pagodas. In the central portion of the canal, that is between
Chin-kiang and Tsing-kiang-pu, at which latter place it crosses the
dry channel which marks the course of the Yellow river before 1852,
the current is strong and difficult to ascend in the upward (northern)
journey. This part of the canal skirts several lakes and is fed by the
Hwai-ho as it issues from the