Stage II. Lan-chou Fu (lo miles). General Direction : W. 



The road continues to ascend the right bank of the Yellow River, 

 passing Tung-kuang at 5 miles, and K'uei-hsing-t'un at 6 miles, and 

 crosses a sandy j poorly-cultivated plain to the town. 



Lan-chou Fu is the capital of Kansu, and the seat of the Viceroy 

 of Sh^nkan. It has a population of about half-a-million. It is a busy 

 commercial centre, and a considerable amount of cloth is manufactured 

 in the neighbourhood. There is a telegraph office at Lan-chou, and 

 communication eastwards with Hsi-an Fu, via Ku-yuan Chou, and 

 north-westwards with Kuldja and Kashgar, via Liang-chou Fu, Yung- 

 chang Hsien, Kan-chou Fu, Kao-t'ai Hsien, Su Chou, and An-hsi 

 Chou, at all of which towns there are telegraph offices. There is also 

 a Branch Post Office (Lanchowfu). The Yellow River is crossed N. 

 the town by an iron bridge. 



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