Peking to Lhasa : vol.1 / Page 98 (Color Image)

0098	Peking to Lhasa : vol.1

68 PEKING TO LHASA

writers and considered that the spectacles gave

them the air of students.

There was a gradual rise terminating in a very

steep ascent up a defile over a bad stony road to

Shang-fei-yüeh Ling (11,000 feet). On the top of

this pass there was a little snow and the air was

frosty. From it he got a fine view over narrow

valleys below. The descent was very steep, and

the wonder was that the mules got down without

a fall. The total rise was 4740 feet and the

descent 2260 feet. The next day December 24

he reached the T'ung Ho valley after a further

steep descent and followed it up to Luting-kiao,

5900 feet. The hills cut up by deep narrow

valleys rose to a height of 4000 or 5000 feet, but

were almost bare of trees as the Chinese had cut

them down. The path wound pleasantly along

the hill-sides 300 or 400 feet above the river,

which was of a deep blue - green colour flecked

by patches of foam in the rapids. By the side of

the river was a narrow belt of flat land taken up

by farms and small paddy fields green with the

spring crop.

Christmas Day he spent in solitary state at

Waszekow in the Lu Ho valley, and the next day

ascending a narrow, rocky winding valley with the

Lu Ho, a dashing mountain torrent, on the right,

he reached Ta-chien-lu.

Ta-chien-lu is the capital of the special area of

western Szechwan. This area used to extend to

Chamdo on the west, to Ya-chow-fu on the east,

and nominally to Somo and Damba on the north,

Taowu and Kantze on north-west. It lies in a

hollow between high bleak hills. And from it

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