After 45 li we reached the Hunsuiling pass — a slight depression between two small hills of sand and some small stones. Barometer No. i 608.3. The main direction during the ascent was NNW. — A mountain could be seen quite close to the NW from the pass, a smaller one to the NE. We followed the slightly dipping ground between them to the N, consisting of sand mixed with stones. On the left we passed the village of Hunsuiling with 4.0 houses. In front of us there was a large mountain range. We reached a bed of stones running NNW at its foot, a couple of li from the pass. We followed this, keeping the mountain range just mentioned on our right and a slightly lower one on our left. The dip in the ground was gentle. On the slope on the right we caught sight of a village and on the left we passed a couple of hovels at the mouth of a side-gorge. There were only a few side-gorges visible, all stony. The further we went, the rougher grew the road. Stone upon stone, not a level spot large enough for a horse's hoof. The mountains were steep, inaccessible and high. For the greater part grey granite was visible, interrupted here and there by grass. We frequently crossed a small river.
After 75 li we reached the village of Huiku with 15 houses at the mouth of the gorge. Before us a wide plain spread out, open to the NNE, sparsely populated and with tall trees growing on it, that looked like palms at a distance; poplars and willows with bare trunks and thick crowns grew in the part that was nearest to us. Far in front more large mountains, more or less parallel to those we had just crossed. Here the direction of these was ENE. Far off' to the NE, too, we saw a mountain range going in a NE direction. For a time the road proceeded along the foot of the mountains. From their line another mountain projected a good way into the valley, also at a considerable distance. — After 8o li the village of Yung Nan yu with 30o houses. — Gaolyan, millet, tchumiza, jumi (similar to wheat), maize, peas, potatoes and opium are grown. Average crop io fold.
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IIIF Color HighRes
