Indo-China Visited

Once, my friend Rosemary thought she might move to Hong-Kong, China, to join her husband, Jeff, who traveled there so frequently on business he might move there permanently.  "Would you come to visit me if we moved there?" Rosemary asked.  "Oh, yes," I enthusiastically replied.  But alas, neither their plans nor mine came to be.

I had to return to my world map before I got very far into the next National Geographic Article, "Along the Old Mandarin Road of Indo-China," W. Robert Moore, August, 1931.  In that year, the country we now know as Vietnam was called French Indo-China and Cochin-China.  The cities of Hanoi, Phnom Penh, and Hue will be familiar to anyone who was an adult during the "Vietnam Conflict."  What was different? The city known as Saigon is now Ho Chi Minh City, to honor the North Vietnamese Communist dictator. The countries of Laos and Cambodia have the same names. Siam is now called Thailand.

Mr. Moore's journey began on the western border of Cambodia, then a French colony, in the town of Poipet.  Moore and his group took a side trip to Angkor Vat, site of an ancient temple.  "The great Khmer temple remains in a remarkable state of preservation, despite the fact that for centuries it was engulfed by the jungle" (photo caption, p. 158).  "Whether by moonlight, in the searching glare of noonday, or at eventide, as long queues of winging bats pour out like wisps of smoke from its darkened towers, Angkor grips one with its spell of grandeur" (p. 159).

The French used part of the old Mandarin Road for their Coloniale Number One Road, 1,600 miles long from Poipet to China.  Rice fields were everywhere, covering more than 13 1/2 million acres.  "The whole length of the Mandarin Road is a story of rice, and every stage of its cultivation may be seen simultaneously" (p. 163).  Primitive agricultural methods were used throughout Indo-China, very labor-intensive.

In the countryside were groves of coconut trees and kapok (tree cotton), plus rubber plantations amidst areas of jungle.  Fishing was the main coastal industry.  Surface coal mines were worked.  There was a substantial silk industry.  Native wood carving was fine and very intricate.

Similar to the ruins of castles, churches, and forts in Europe were the ruins of ancient religious monuments in Indo-China.  "At various times, among the country's racial groups, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Naturism, Confucianism, Animism, some Mohammedanism, and of late, Christianity have found adherents" (photo caption, p. 168).

Some of the mountain tribes were matriarchal, the first such society I have encountered in National Geographic Magazine.  "The women of these tribespeople are the leaders of the family; the property is at their disposition, they care for the family, buy at market, and otherwise hold the purse strings.  The men show them respect, and if they want to drink rice wine or make purchases they must obtain permission from their wives" (p. 175).

Hunting of wild animals was very popular due to the abundance of tigers, leopards, deer and wild buffalo in the hills.  Elephant travel was gradually being replaced by cars and buses due to the new roads built by the French government.

"The city of Hue is located a few miles inland from the sea, on the banks of the winding River of Perfumes - a name given because of the sweet scented flowering trees growing along its banks" (p. 180).

There must have been a complicated government in French Indo-China.  "Royalty still lives in Hue even though French authority may stand somewhat ill-concealed in the background."  Mr. Moore visited the royal princess in her home.  At that time, "the young emperor, Bao-Dai (Greatness Sustained) was studying in France" (p. 181).

The city of Hanoi, on the banks of the Son Koi, or Red River, was the French capital.  The French fought the Chinese who were the previous rulers.  At last Mr. Moore "rounded a curve and before us stood the "Porte de Chino," with its stone walls, like sinuous Chinese dragons, mounting the hills on each side" (p. 199).  This was a very interesting mix of Oriental and European cultures!