[Illustration: MULE PALANQUIN.] When an important mandarin travels everyone makes way for him and his imposing retinue, but with those of lower rank this is not the case, and it is one of the duties of his bearers to keep up a constant succession of loud shouts and commands such as "Mind your back!" "Move to the right!" "Get out of the way!" As may be imagined the streets of a Chinese town are very noisy, for they are narrow and crowded with a motley throng of people, among whom are porters with heavy packs on their shoulders, itinerant merchants carrying their wares in baskets slung on long poles, beggars, and children of all sizes and ages. [Illustration: WHEELBARROW OMNIBUS.] Besides these private sedan chairs there are others which may be hired. These are fairly comfortable, being provided with cushions and having a narrow shelf on either side on which the passenger can rest his arms. In country districts, however, the traveller has to be content with a simpler conveyance, consisting of a roughly made bamboo chair attached to long poles. [Illustration: A TRAVELLING TRADESMAN.] Sometimes much larger palanquins are seen. These will hold several people and are carried by two mules or ponies. In China, rickshaws, which are wheeled chairs drawn by one or more coolies, are also used, their name coming from the Chinese word _jin-li-che_, which means "man-power-carriage." These little vehicles are convenient, but in many cities the streets are so narrow that they cannot be employed. Then it is that we find the quaint wheelbarrows, which are, perhaps, the strangest conveyances in the whole world. These wheelbarrows are used both to carry passengers and merchandise. Those intended for the former purpose have a very large wheel, on either side of which is a seat arranged rather in the fashion of an Irish jaunting car. Below the seat a cord is suspended on which the feet of the travellers can rest. Two, four, six, or even, sometimes, as many as eight native women can be carried, and the coolie who pushes the barrow has a strap across his shoulders which eases his arms of some of the weight. Occasionally hooded wheelbarrows are seen, and for them a second coolie in front is employed. [Illustration: CHINESE CART.] In Northern China donkeys and bullocks often drag these strange, one-wheeled carts. The roads are so bad that it is almost impossible for larger vehicles to be used, although sometimes we see a native family with their household goods moving from one place to another in a rough wagon drawn by an ox and a donkey harnessed side by side. [Illustration: JAPANESE RICKSHAW.] From China we travel still further east, and in Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun, other curious and picturesque conveyances are to be seen by the fortunate tourist who is able to journey so far afield.