The coast of China, from Hainan to the mouth of the Yangtsz’, is bordered with multitudes of islands and rocky islets; from that point northward to Liautung, the shores are low, and, except in Shantung, the coast is rendered dangerous by shoals. South of the Pei ho, along to the end of Shantung Promontory, the coast is bolder, increasing in height after passing the Miautau Islands, though neither side of the promontory presents any point of remarkable elevation; Cape Macartney, at the eastern end, is a conspicuous bluff when approaching it from sea. From this cape to the mouth of the Tsientang River, near Chapu, a distance of about 400 miles, the coast is low, especially between the mouths of the Yangtsz’ and Yellow rivers, and has but few good harbors. Quicksands in the regions near these rivers and the Bay of Hangchau render the navigation dangerous to native junks. From Kitto Point, near Ningpo, down to Hongkong, the shores assume a bolder aspect, and numerous small bays and coves occur among the islands, affording safe refuge for vessels. The aspect along this part is uninviting in the extreme, consisting principally of a succession of yellowish cliffs and naked headlands, giving little promise of the highly cultivated country beyond them. This bleak appearance is caused by the rains washing the decomposed soil off the surface; the rock being granite in a state of partial and progressive disintegration, the loose soil is easily carried down into the intervals. Another reason for its treeless surface is owing to the practice of annually cutting the coarse grass for fuel, and after the crop is gathered setting the stubble on fire, in order to manure the ground for the coming year; the fire and thinness of the soil together effectually prevent any large growth of trees or shrubbery upon the hills. The estuary of the Pearl River from the Bocca Tigris down to the Grand Ladrones, a distance of 70 miles, and from Hongkong westerly to the Island of Tungku, about 100 miles, is interspersed with islands. The strait which separates Hainan from the Peninsula of Luichau has been supposed to be the place called by Arabian travellers in the ninth century the Gates of China, but that channel was probably near the Chusan Archipelago. That group of fertile islands is regarded as the broken termination of the continental range of mountains running through Chehkiang. The Island of Formosa, or Taiwan, connects the islands of Japan and Lewchew with Luçonia. Between Formosa and the coast lie the Pescadores or Panghu Islands, a group much less in extent and number than the Chusan Islands. The Chinese have itineraries of all the places, headlands, islands, etc., along the entire coast, but they do not afford much information respecting the names of positions.[14]