The Railway Yard at the Ichang Railway Station:- This is about a mile from the Yangtze, inland. It is 1000 yards long from North to South by 370 yards wide. The area is level and there are no buildings except at the sides and end. The ground originally consisted of rice fields which have been filled in and raised. It is covered with a coarse grass, is liable to be soft in wet weather and is not drained. It is bounded on the North-East by low hills. From the Yangtse to the ground is a road for two-thirds of a mile, then a path unsuitable for wheeled traffic. The Railway Goods Yard:- This is on the North bank of the Yangtze a mile below the foreign business quarter of the town. It is about 350 yards x 230 yards. It formerly consisted of fields which have been raised and levelled. It is used as a Golf Course and there are consequently bunkers etc. on it and in two places a small area with sheds thereon. At the North-East end are the railway godowns. It is covered with coarse grass which is not cut down but does not grow high in summer. It is liable to be marshy in wet weather. There is no road to the ground but easy access is obtainable by boat. It is bounded on the North-East by low hills. AMOY There is no space sufficiently large and level. One of the officers (Captain Turcelli) connected with the Rome to Tokio flight visited Amoy and informed me there was in his opinion no place suitable for landing. TSINGTAO Lieutenants Ferrarin and Masiero of the Italian Aviation Corps in the Rome-Tokio flight landed and took off on a square of some 450 yards marked out on a level piece of ground about one mile from the town at present used as golf course and forming the centre of the former German race course. The ground is surrounded by small trees and there are some houses on the hillside, but neither trees, houses or hills interfere with landing or taking off. The surface of this ground is in good condition, the soil is a hard sandy clay and well drained, and the ground free from stones and immovable objects. A well made asphalt road connects with the town about one mile distant. Lieutenant Ferrarin considered this landing place one of the best he had encountered on the Rome-Tokio flight. A map of the aerodrome prepared for the use of the Italian aviators is on file in the office of H.M. Commercial Counsellor of Legation at Shanghai.
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