2o6 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



about 100 years ago it was totally destroyed by a landslip, 

 due to a moving glacier. Some day a similar fate will 

 doubtless overtake the existing town. 



Notwithstanding its great political and commercial im- 

 portance Tachienlu is a meanly built and filthy city. It is 

 without a surrounding wall, save for a fragment which runs 

 across near the south gate, and it has no west gate. The 

 narrow, uneven streets are paved with stone in which pure 

 marble largely figures, though this is only evident after some 

 heavy downpour has washed away the usual covering of mud 

 and filth. The houses are low, built of wood resting on founda- 

 tions of shale rocks. The principal shops are by no means 

 of imposing appearance, and, indeed, the only places note- 

 worthy are two Chinese temples and the palace of the local 

 king. The latter consists of several lofty semi-Chinese build- 

 ings of wood with sloping roofs and curved eaves surmounted 

 by gilded pinnacles, the whole structure being situated in a 

 large compound and surrounded by a high stone wall. The 

 residences of the Chinese officials are poor, ramshackle places, 

 and the same is true of the various inns. In the latter most of 

 the business is transacted. Some inns that I visited contained 

 valuable collections of porcelain and bronze-ware, and an 

 extraordinary number of old French clocks. Very few of the 

 clocks were in working order, but many were of large size, and 

 how they all reached this remote place is a mystery to me. 



The population of Tachienlu consists of about 700 Thibetan 

 and 400 Chinese families and, with its floating members, is 

 reckoned at 9000 people. In and near the town are eight 

 lamaseries boasting 800 lamas and acolytes. The population 

 is very mixed, consisting of pure Thibetans, pure Chinese, 

 and half-breeds. Very few purely Chinese women are to be 

 found in Tachienlu. 



As seen in and around Tachienlu the Thibetans are a 

 picturesque people. Of medium height and lithely but muscu- 

 larly built, they have an easy carriage and independent mien. 

 The young women are usually sprightly in manner, always 

 cheery, with dark-brown eyes and finely cut features. Both 

 sexes are fond of jewellery ornamented with turquoise and 

 coral, but they are strangers to soap and water, and personal 



