there onward steadily rises till it reaches an altitude of nearly gooo feet at the 
summit of the Yung-yao Pass to the west of P’ing-liang Fu (Kansu). These 
mountains make a formidable barrier and can only be negotiated with great 
difficulty. The eastern slope is about three miles in length, in which distance 
it rises about 3000 feet. To accomplish this ascent, each cart needs about 
treble its usual number of mules, and several carters have to combine to help 
one another, their wretched animals being forced to make the heart-breaking 
journey two or even three times during the day. Not infrequently a caravan 
will spend the whole day in getting across this difficult pass. The severity of 
the strain on the animals may be gathered from the innumerable skeletons 
that litter the slopes close to the road. The difference in temperature 
between the eastern and western slopes of these mountains was very 
noticeable. On the eastern side foliage was well advanced ; the valleys and 
ravines were filled with dense bushes already in full leaf; the slopes were 
covered with scrub in an equally advanced condition ; whilst the trees that 
lined the roads had assumed their summer livery. The western side presented 
a very different aspect ; the slopes, valleys, and ravines were almost nude; no 
green was to be seen; a few straggling trees stood bare and brown in the 
bottoms of the hollows. In crossing the pass the travellers had stepped from 
a beautiful country, rich in animal life and sylvan scenery, into a dry, cold, 
and barren wilderness. 
At a small village about five days journey from Hsi-an, we came across a 
temple of the T’ang dynasty, Ta-fu-ssii (Great Sage Temple). This consists 
of a cave close upon seventy feet high, and proportionately wide and deep, 
in which sits a colossal Buddha placidly contemplating the eternal cycle of 
things, and supported on either side by gigantic attendant deities. The 
figures, as well as the cave itself, have all been hewn with infinite labour out 
of the solid cliff. This temple had been repaired recently, and the figures 
were covered with plaster and gorgeously painted. It is possible to view this 
Buddha from three different points ; the ground floor, a balcony at about half 
the height of the figure, and a second balcony on a level with the face. From 
this last a photograph of the face was obtained, and is reproduced in this 
volume. 
It may not be out of place here to mention another temple of the same 
dynasty lying some six miles south of Ho-nan Fu, and known as Lung-k’ou 
Miao (Dragon’s Mouth Temple). This consists of a series of large caves in 
the side of a deep gorge cutting through a range of low, rocky mountains. 
Within the caves are large images of Buddha, and attendant sages, all hewn 
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