A mile from the town the river enters a narrow defile, where steep walls of rock rise abruptly from the banks.

The road here passes under a massive gateway.

Forts, now dismantled, guard the entrance; the pass could be made absolutely impregnable.

At this point the torrent falls under a natural bridge of unusual beauty.

We rode on by the narrow bank along the river, crossed from the left to the right bank, and continued on through a beautiful country, sweet with the scent of the honeysuckle, to the charming little village of Hokiangpu.