China: A sketch by Louis Delaporte depicting a village close to Simao in southern China in 1867 when it was infested by cholera.

Delaporte produced a great number of drawings, sketches and watercolours during his two-year venture (1866-68) with the Mekong Exploration Commission sponsored by the French Ministry of the Navy, the intention of which was to lay the groundwork for the expansion of French colonies in Indochina. Traveling almost exclusively on the Mekong by boat, the small French delegation voyaged from Saigon to Phnom Penh to Luang Prabang, then farther north into the uncharted waters of Upper Laos and China's Yunnan province. In this sketch, the explorers stay clear of the village of Se-Mao in Yunnan province where some 50 persons reportedly died every day from cholera.

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

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Pictures From History