The trees are sometimes prettily arranged in alleys, but are planted far less for ornament than for use.

Rice always requires a great deal of moisture, and the trees are planted in order to impart a greater degree of solidity to the soil, and also to prevent the possibility of its being washed away by the force of the stream.

Pretty little country houses of the genuine Chinese pattern, with their sloping, pointed, indented roofs, and their coloured tiles inlaid with different hues, were scattered here and there, under groups of shady trees, while pagodas (called Tas) of various styles, and from three to nine stories high, raised their heads on little eminences in the neighbourhood of the villages, and attracted attention at a great distance.

A number of fortifications, which, however, look more like roofless houses than anything else, protect the stream.
For miles below Canton, the villages follow one another in quick succession.

They are mostly composed of miserable huts, built for the most part on piles driven into the river, and before them lie innumerable boats, which also serve as dwellings.
The nearer we approached Canton, the busier became the scene on the river, and the greater the number of ships and inhabited boats.