Travel in Rural China
Travelling in pre-modern China was a difficult experience. The countryside was full of robbers and the roads were in very poor condition. Below are photographs taken around 1911 in the Yunnan western region of China by an American traveller.
Roads were usually mere trails or paths, which did not allow any form of vehicle traffic or horses. In these circumstances central government authority was weakened and armed robbery was commonplace.
In many parts of old China, travel between villages was so difficult that the roads were usually deserted.
This picture was taken in 1911 in the far west of China. It was common then for the traveller to meet no one and encounter no sign of human habitation for days.
The few isolated villages were usually fortified.
A Chinese Soldier Assigned to Guard a Foreign Traveler in the early 1900s
Because of the dangers, foreign travelers were usually given an armed government escort. Guarding the foreign traveler was good policy: it allowed the Chinese government to keep an eye on the intruder, and also kept him safe from the armed highwaymen and bandits that plagued the countryside. Keeping the foreign traveler safe was important; the Chinese government did not want to provoke an international incident, should something happen.
