RECORDS OF THE JOURNEY
the Ta Sa ho, which is quite 200 fathoms wide and flows in a direction of 170° in a perfectly flat bed with little water. A barren stretch of sand begins on the opposite bank, extending about 2 1/2 miles to the S, E and N. In the S and N the plain is bounded by a cultivated strip with single houses and trees. At an interval of barely 2/3 of a mile we crossed two small, flat river beds, probably arms of the same Ta Sa ho. The shifting sand, with its slight dunes, ceases E of the second of these river beds and the plain becomes grassy with large deposits of salt. 2 I /2 miles from the Ta Sa ho we came to tilled land again and about I /3 of a mile from there we passed the village of Tientanpu, containing about 5o houses. The district we now passed through was cultivated and sparsely
populated.
2 miles E of Tientanpu lies the village of Kucheng-tzu with about Ioo houses. The road led through the village, which was enclosed by a fortress wall. E of it a barren plain of löss begins, the surface forming mounds, heaps and cones of different sizes. On the left of the road we could see the wide bed of the river Shantan ho, covered with ice. 2 I /2 miles from the latter village the village of Chia-tzu-tung with about 40 houses was visible on the other side of the river. The ground to the N of the river drops considerably from the fairly high Kheli shan mountains, about 2 I /2 miles off, towards the river. There are a few single large houses visible further E of Chia-tzu-tung near the river. The southern bank is entirely uncultivated. Soon we reached the bank of the river, where the ground is very sandy and there are many small stones. N of the houses on the northern bank of the river we could see the Great Chinese Wall, badly damaged by wind and rain at this part. Three or four tuntai towers went in a northerly direction towards a gorge in the mountains, indicating the existence of a road used either now or formerly. The road leads to a gorge in the Lung thou mountains (He li shan) and through it to the Tcheng Fan hsien district, about 7 days' journey from Tung to in a NE direction. Gold is said to have been washed formerly 2 days' journey from the beginning of the gorge in the same direction, but the washing has been abandoned owing to the shortage of water. About 3 I /2 miles from Chia-tzu-tung there were ruins of houses along the road. Two long ridge-like rises in the ground, approximately in a S—N direction, touched the road at their northern points. The barren ground that had extended for about 8 miles came to an end at the top of the second rise and the neighbourhood became cultivated again. The little town of Tunglo, surrounded by earthworks, and the seat of the mandarin of the district of the same name, stood I mile further on.
The Chinese calculate the distance covered to-day at 7o li. I made it 22-23 miles. The road was good with the exception of the 2 I /2 miles of sandy ground. The river crossings might prevent traffic for 2 or 3 days. The Tung to district is divided into 7 pa, two large ones lying near the mountains in the S. Those in the vicinity of the town contain 800 tja, while the two southern ones represent 2,000 by themselves. 6,70o to 7,000 tan of grain are levied annually in taxes. The town, which is small, is said to contain a couple of hundred houses, 3o40 shops and 4 sarais. — Wheat, millet, tchumiza and some opium are grown, besides huma and mustard in the mountains in the S. The crop in the vicinity of the town is 9-10 fold; in the south 7-8 fold. — Snow falls between the loth and 2nd
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