Twenty miles west from Laichow-foo we reached Sa Hoh, the centre of the district in which so much straw braid or plait is made. It is prepared from wheat straw. The natives are very expert at plaiting it. At every door stood girls and women busily plaiting, their fingers going as nimbly over the braid as though there was no toil in forming those wondrous bunches of fine straw plait. The finest of it is plaited by women from seventeen to thirty years of age. When older than thirty-five expertness fails them, and, as a rule, they do not plait so well. This plaiting is one of the most important industries of Shan-tung. Great quantities of the plait are exported to New York and to England. It is also dyed in very fine colours. The mixed braids of green and white, and of magenta and white, are exceedingly pretty.

The town has improved immensely since I saw it first in 1873. Many new and handsome places of business have been opened. Many houses have recently been built. There is a general well-to-do look about the people. Certainly foreign trade has done a great deal, not only for Sa Hoh, but for all the surrounding district.