Peking to Lhasa : vol.1 / Page 116 (Color Image)

0116	Peking to Lhasa : vol.1

82 PEKING TO LHASA

here crosses the Min River. The weather was

dull and cloudy, and a little snow fell at night.

Continuing up the valley of the Min by a good

road he passed Hein-pau-kuan (also called Wei-

kiu or Wei-chou), a walled town with 415 families,

where there is another rope-bridge over the Min,

and on the other side a road leading westerly to

Lifan-Ling. Beyond this cultivation increased

and the hills were more sloping. At Wen-cheng,

which he reached on February 1, he had the luxury

of a new inn, though the luxury was tempered by

the draughts from many gaps in the planks.

Mow-chow (now Mow-hsien), 5300 feet, was

reached on the following day. It is a dirty walled

town containing 750 families. On February 3 he

crossed a small fertile plain for 24 miles, and then

the valley of the Min again closed in and the

road lay between high, bare, rugged mountains.

Often the scenery was wild and grand, and at

one place there was a small tunnel through the

rock and a little shrine above, with memorial

inscriptions to the benefactors who had made

the tunnel. At 10 miles from Kou-k'ou-chai the

valley of the Min divides, the Min being formed

of two branches, one named Sung-pan and the

other Hei-shui. The Sung-pan is not much more

than a small mountain torrent. And it was this

branch that Pereira ascended, reaching Ta-tien

on February 4. Occasionally on the left bank

were houses with the peculiar high towers. There

is great doubt as to the origin of these towers.

Mr. Edgar thought they had some religious

significance. But others said they were for de-

fence and pointed out that the rear wall was

National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books