SPORT AND SCIENCE ON THE 



on the 28th it cleared up long enough for the 

 annual races to be held. We witnessed these, 

 and were much amused to see Chinese grooms 

 from Shanghai dressed in all the splendour of 

 their European masters' cast-off riding clothes, 

 racing neck and neck with gaudily dressed Mon- 

 gols. A good turf track had been marked out, 

 supposedly the size of the Shanghai course, and 

 the races were conducted as nearly as possible 

 on the same lines as those at the Treaty Port 

 meetings. 



These races are not to be compared with the 

 long twenty, forty or sixty li races indulged in by 

 the Mongols, in which the jockeys are young boys 

 and girls, who ride bare-backed. Unfortunately we 

 just missed seeing one of these proper races, which 

 took place at a neighbouring chief's encampment 

 a few days later. Regarding one of these races 

 we were told an amusing story. A certain Mongol 

 chief offered a prize of one hundred taels (about 

 £15) to the winner of a fifty li race (about fifteen 

 miles). He also offered a second prize of twenty 

 taels. The race was to be between two camps 

 along a certain route not yet specified. It so 

 happened that in the district there was a pony 

 which hitherto had remained unbeaten. On the 

 day of the race the owner of this pony was pur- 

 posely given wrong instructions as to the route 

 to be taken, being directed to take a rough and 

 roundabout way to the winning post. All the 



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