National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

The area represented in this sheet com-
prises two distinct regions. In the north
there extend the low desert ranges and the
plateaus of the Kuruk-tāgh; in the south,
the great salt-encrusted basin occupied in
prehistoric times by the Lop sea, together
with its desolate shores of bare gravel or
clay. Both regions are utterly lifeless, except
for the occasional passage of wild camels.
Their character is illustrated by the fact that
apart from the wells of Kum-kuduk there is
to be found no drinkable water in this vast
area, nor living vegetation, except in scanty
patches close to the rare salt springs in the
north and in narrow strips along the shores
of the great eastern bay of the ancient lake-
bed (C,D.4). ¹⁹

While the Kuruk-tāgh region here
shown has never known human life except
for rare visits of hunters in its western part,
distinct historical interest is imparted to the
lake-basin by the fact that across its wastes
of hard salt-crust and along its equally barren
shores of gravel and wind-eroded clay there
led the route which from the second century
B. C. onwards formed the earliest, and for a
long time the chief, line of communication
from China into the Tārim basin. The
complete 'desiccation' of the Lou-lan terri-
tory some four centuries later finally closed
it to traffic. The Chinese historical notices

of this Lop desert route and the topographi-
cal facts concerning it, as elucidated in the
course of our surveys, have been set forth in
Serindia, ii. pp. 553 sqq. ²⁰

The caravan track along the southern
shore of the dried-up lake bed, is described
in Desert Cathay, i. pp. 520 sqq. For a full
account of the historical topography of this
interesting route, the same which Hsüan-
tsang (A.D. 645) and Marco Polo followed,
see Serindia, Chapter XIV. sec. i-iii (ii. pp.
549 sqq.). A preliminary report on my
explorations among the easternmost ruins of
the Lou-lan territory (A. 3), and on the
journey by which I traced the earliest Chinese
route from Tun-huang to Lou-lan across the
salt-encrusted Lop lake bed, is contained in
Geograph. Journal, 1916, xlviii. pp. 126
sqq.; Geographical Review (New York),
1921, ix. pp. 22 sqq.

Corrections. A. 1. Delete the latitude
station symbol from Bir-atai-bulak, Camp
270.

C. 3. For Achehik-bulak the height
2270 (aneroid; of 1913) ought to be adopted.

D. 4. For Kum-kuduk, Camp 52, the
height 2245, observed by mercurial baro-
meter, ought to have been shown. Delete
height 2750 (aneroid) at adjoining Camp 95
and height 2730 (aneroid) at Camp 94.

Astronomically observed latitudes.
1913-15 Kaurük-bulak, Camp 88 (near spring; A. 2) ... ... 41° 4′ 0″
Camp 92, southernmost Kuruk-tāgh (D. 3) ... ... 40° 35′ 0″
Palgān-bulak, Camp 260 (near spring; A. 2) ... ... 41° 19′ 44″
Camp 266, S. of Achi-tāgh (B. 1) ... ... ... 41° 45′ 24″

NOTES ON SHEET No. 33 (LOWAZA, BĀSH-KURGHĀN)

The two routes from which all the
ground shown in this sheet was surveyed, are
the only lines of communication now practic-
able between Tun-huang and the Lop region.
They were followed both on the second and
third expeditions, the latitude observations
taken on the latter (see below) making it
possible to lay down the route lines more
correctly than before. The traverses of both

routes are adjusted on the positions adopted
for Mirān and An-hsi. In the case of the
former place, it must be noted that reconsi-
deration of R.B. Lāl Singh's triangulation
in 1921 brings its longitude about 2 minutes
to the west of the one shown in Sheet No.
30. B. 2.

The route shown in the north-western
portion of the sheet forms part of the old