If this Vitaphone short had been made at least five years later, it would have been filmed in rich color, much like the James FitzPatrick shorts that roamed all over the world to bring us exotic views of China, Egypt or Siam.
Instead, we have a poorly narrated B&W short that takes a leisurely look at some interesting temples and palaces of the Far East--beginning with China, Siam, and moving on to Egypt.
It starts with the Pearl River and a part of China that is still living in ancient ways on water, small crafts populating the river with families who make their living surrounded by hundreds of other fishing boats. Then a look at the more sophisticated cities nearby, on to Siam and its numerous gorgeous monuments, and finally Egypt.
This is one short that cries out for color photography, especially for the sequence photographed in Siam.