in pairs or singly at a considerable distance from the others. The great majority had no equipment beyond the clothes they wore. A few of fortune's favourites balanced straw hats with enormous embroidered brims, blue umbrellas, boxes and other luxuries on springboards. The men, who looked weak, were of medium height or shorter. At noon fine snow began to fall. The grass had been burnt in many places, probably by the soldiers who had warmed themselves for a short time on the march.
At Lung kowpu snow falls between the gth and 4th months and occasionally remains on the ground. There is much rain between the 4th and 8th months. There are no burans, but north winds are common in spring. Wheat, peas, a kind of small beans and tchinkho are grown. The crop is 4-5 fold.
,January 25th. The road to-day went on along the same valley, the character of which was similar
Ta-chaikow to that towards the end of yesterday's journey. A patch of field was visible here and there
village. and a few trees at the bottom of the valley; the mountains were not high and their slopes not particularly steep. After travelling 5 li we passed a group of ruins with a couple of inhabited houses called Kou Yuan miao. At a distance of 3 li beyond lies Jufong thedza, also with only 2-3 houses. Soon afterwards the valley became much broader. Ngan yuan lies approximately in the middle of a triangular valley, 2/3-1 square mile, surrounded by gentle slopes. Here our road joined a more westerly one from Lianchow and one from Sining. The small bazaar, consisting of about 20 houses, is surrounded by considerable ruins. In the south the valley is bounded by a series of grassy hills, beyond which, at some distance to the S, rise the spiky peaks of a chain of beautiful granite mountains. The road, which had gone in a SSW direction, now led us SSE up the hills to the S. The ascent of the slopes was not steep, but long. It was with difficulty that the poor arbah horses clambered up to the U shao ling pass after frequent, long rests. The hill, up which the road ran, was about on a level with the surrounding hills. The view to the N and S was fairly extensive and beautiful over two large valleys and the mountains enclosing them. The higher chain of mountains that we had caught sight of earlier, was now clearly visible to the SW and SSW. Its direction seemed to be NW—SE and it presented a fine appearance among the lowering, thick clouds. The pass lies 30 li from Lung kowpu. — The road took us down it in a SSE direction along a valley with gentle slopes which, after about 8 li, ended in the valley, about I I /2 miles wide, of the river Chuang lang ho. Here there was a small dilapidated impanj with a garrison of a so-called in under the command of a juti. On the other side of the river bed, about 200-150 fathoms wide, lies a village that bears the same name as the impanj, Chenchiangyi. The river, flowing WNW—ESE, was frozen over with the exception of a channel of inconsiderable depth and breadth. At times it separated into several branches, at others it combined into a large surface of clear ice. The Great Wall of China, like ourselves, crossed over to the right bank of the river. A branch of it goes south up the mountains, another continues close to the road between the latter and the river. The road had been good throughout and now became excellent. The banks of the river were cultivated in places and groups of houses could be seen on both with many ruins. 22 li from the very considerable village of Chenchianyi we passed Ta-chai-
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