THE PASSING OF MONGOLIAN MYSTERY 183 



may be built from Kalgan to Urga, or by way of Kwei- 

 hua-cheng either route is feasible. It will mean a di- 

 rect connection between Shanghai, China's greatest 

 port, and Verkhin Udinsk on the Trans-Siberian Rail- 

 road via Tientsin, Peking, Kalgan, Urga, Kiakhta. It 

 will shorten the trip to London by at least four days for 

 passengers and freight. It will open for settlement and 

 commercial development a country of boundless possi- 

 bilities and unknown wealth which for centuries has been 

 all but forgotten. 



Less than seven hundred years ago Mongolia well- 

 nigh ruled the world. Her people were strong beyond 

 belief, but her empire crumbled as quickly as it rose, 

 leaving to posterity only a glorious tradition and a land 

 of mystery. The tradition will endure for centuries; 

 but the motor car and aeroplane and wireless have dis- 

 pelled the mystery forever. 



