The expedition continued its westward march on February 14th, and after 
crossing a pass at an altitude of over 5000 feet, and descending into a steadily 
widening and very fertile valley, reached the small walled town of Ho-shui 
Hsien. The hills on either side of the road were covered with scrub, and but 
few villages were seen. The road, since leaving Ch’ang-ts’un-yi, had been 
excellent for mule traffic, whilst the country consisted of loess, with here and 
there signs of carboniferous bed-rock. There was plenty of water, perennial 
streams, now frozen over, flowing at the bottom of each ravine, and in every 
valley. This last stage was nineteen miles. The following day Ch’ing-yang 
Fu was reached after a journey of over twenty miles through a terraced loess 
country, which, however, showed few signs of cultivation, and was but 
sparsely populated. There was every evidence that Ch’ing-yang Fu had been 
at one time a fine and prosperous city, but its population had fallen victims to 
a massacre in the Mohammedan rebellion, and the place had never regained 
its former importance, containing now at a liberal estimate not more than 
1000 inhabitants. A halt was made here till February 21st, when the journey 
westward was resumed. Pai-ma-p’u, a miserable village situated on a plateau, 
was reached that night after a march of fourteen miles through poor country. 
On the following day Hsi-féng-chén was reached, and here a halt was made 
till February 25th. The distance between this and the last stopping-place 
was twenty-one miles along a good cart-road lying over the loess plateau. 
Many bustard were seen, and Grant secured one at long range. 
On February 25th, the journey was continued still over similar country 
till T’ai-pei-ch’éng was reached, this being the second village of that name 
met with in Kansu; it is about sixteen miles from Hsi-féng-chén. Chén-yiian 
Hsien, the next halting-place, was reached on February 27th after a journey of 
fifteen miles, again over loess plateaux, on the western limit of which the 
town is situated. It is decidedly more prosperous than any of the places 
passed by the expedition since leaving Fu-chou in Shensi, and contains a 
Protestant Mission Station. Between Ch'ing-yang Fu and Chén-yiian Hsien 
runs a cart-road, which, although not very good for carts, is excellent for mule 
traffic. From Chén-yiian it goes southward to P’ing-liang Fu. 
After one day’s stay at Chén-yiian, the expedition continued its journey 
towards Lan-chou. Yang-shu-wan, situated at an altitude of about 5300 feet, was 
reached on March ist. The country passed through looked much more 
prosperous, and the land was all under cultivation. The road was good, so 
that the twenty-one miles between this village and Chén-yiian were accom- 
plished in good time, the usual loess hills being encountered. Owing to the 
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