the land. The total amount of the tax is said to be I,37o tan of grain (which indicates that the poorer land preponderates) and 29,000 sheaves (of 8 djin) of unthreshed millet straw. The stock of cattle is said to be 2 pair of oxen, 2-3 horses and 20-3o sheep on the larger farms, I pair of oxen, I or no horse, a couple of donkeys and a few sheep on the smaller ones. Only 4 Chinese are said to possess camels and their number is not supposed to exceed 2 —300. According to another statement that I consider more trustworthy, there are about 2,000 camels in the district. —In the town itself there are 57 shops, 2 sarais; in the N suburb 39 shops and 3 larger sarais. Only 2 or 3 shops are said to have a turnover of above 5,000 lan per year.
There is a great deal of caravan traffic over Chinta to Gui khua tchen from this part of Northern Kan Su and to Hami and other places in Sinkiang from Kouli. Roads, on which there is a good deal of traffic, lead to Uliasutai and Barkul. Two roads seem to go to Hami, the western, shorter one being used by Sarts, but the eastern one by Chinese. The latter, at any rate, is used by arbahs at times. The road to Barkul has two branches, one of which, too, should be passable for wheeled traffic, though it is not used for this purpose. According to the information I obtained (from the Djentai in Suchow, the Hsietai here and 2 old Chinese) the Chinese army did not use this road during the reconquest of Sinkiang after the Dungan revolt, but followed the main route over Hami. On the other hand, a military route used by the Chinese in the time of the Emperor Khan is said to have passed in this direction. It proved impossible to obtain any information regarding the routes to Gui khua tchen. The Chinese residents here only knew those going to Barkul and Hami and there were no leaders of caravans from other places available. Nor was I able to secure any information concerning the extent of the caravan traffic through this place. Wool purchased by foreign firms is despatched to the east with completed documents, so that it leaves no traces behind at the local »likin» station. Tobacco, pepper and other goods are despatched to Uliasutai.
One of the arbah mules sickened at the moment we were getting into the saddle. As I had no wish to see my things left halfway and it would take several hours to hire another animal, there was nothing for it but to sacrifice a day. I spent it in wandering about the vicinity of the town and taking a few photographs in a couple of old temples. My hopes of being able to shoot something were disappointed, and Lukanin and I returned chilled to the marrow after a fruitless ride of 3 or 4 hours.
I I /2 —2 miles SE of the town stands a miao which was built, it is asserted, in the time of the Emperor Van li (about 300 years ago?). There are 3 memorials there with long Chinese inscriptions, but Sy made out that the oldest was dated the 4oth year of Kienlung and only referred to some repairs. A tall tower stands next to the temple and I was told that there was an older inscription at the top of it, in any case inaccessible, for there was no means of reaching the top of the tower. The temple is called Fo je miao and is said to have been built in honour of the three gods of »San-Ta-Shy». They are enthroned inside three buildings in the form of large gilded figures of Buddha, one riding a tiger or a lion, another a recumbent elephant and the third sitting cross-legged. In another building there
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IIIFカラー高解像度
