China: A sketch by Louis Delaporte of the eastern quarter of the town of Simao in 1867 at a time when the village 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 pass through the village of Se-Mao in Yunnan province where some 50 persons reportedly died every day from cholera.

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Pictures From History