Peking to Lhasa : vol.1 / Page 129 (Color Image)

0129	Peking to Lhasa : vol.1

TO LAN-CHOW 95

its officials from outside provinces, and they carry

on in the same old way of squeeze and oppression.

Pereira stayed here with Mr. and Mrs. Mosely

and Mr. Christie of the Christian and Missionary

Alliance.

On March 13 he proceeded again down the

broad valley of the T'ao Ho. The soil was loess

and fertile and there were plenty of villages. It

is a great tobacco-growing country, most of the

tobacco being sent to Szechwan. The important

market towns of Hsin-tien-pu at 122 miles and

Hsin-tien-chen at 20 miles were passed, the

former having a population of 350 families and

the latter of 100 families. And at 24 miles was

T'ao-sha-hsien, a new " city " of forty houses,

with a mud wall which had only recently been

built. Sha-leng, a town of 97 families, was

reached at 25i- miles. The weather was fine and

mild.

Next day the road first lay down the valley

of the T'ao River and turned to the right and

ascended through loess cuttings on to a bleak,

bare hilly country with practically no trees. A

few villages were seen. Then there was a rather

steep climb to the top of the Kuan-shan-ling,

8110 feet, followed by a descent to A-Kan-chen,

6650 feet, a town of 300 families. The weather

was again fine and mild.

Lan-chow was at last reached on March 15.

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