1870.] Report on Tram-Himalayan Explorations, 8fc. 51 



of the Chang-chenmo, Mr. Johnson having noticed from the 

 peaks he ascended large plains to the east and south-east, which 

 are believed to merge into the Chang-thang plains of Rudok, 

 Whilst he also gathered that the Kiun-Lun range only ran about 

 100 miles east of the Karakash river and then terminated on an 

 extensive plain also communicating with the Charig-thang plains. 



The Pundit whilst marching from Rudok to Thok- Jalung saw 

 no high peaks to the north or east, evidence which all tends to 

 prove the existence of a large plain in that direction, the term 

 Changthang meaning moreover the great plain. 



According to modern maps this plain extends a great way east, 

 nearly up to the end of the great wall of China near the city of 

 Sewchoo, to which place the Chief Pundit appears to have got 

 a rough route when in Lhasa. In his first journal he referred to 

 a place, which he called Jiling, about one month's journey north of 

 Lhasa. This turns out from farther inquiries made by Major 

 Montgomerie to be the same as Siling. The ChiefPun- 

 d i t says that the Lhasa people call it Jiling, but he heard others 

 calling it Siling, and from what he says it is evidently identical with 

 Siling or Sining in North Latitude 37°, East Longitude 102°, which 

 A s 1 1 ey describes as u a great and populous city, built at the vast 

 wall of China, through the gate of which the merchants from India 

 enter Katay or China." 



Lord Strangford, who took great interest in the travels of the 

 Pundit, and was able to identify nearly all the places mentioned 

 by him, was greatly puzzled by the Pundit's description of Jiling, 

 given in his first journal, where it is said to be in Tartary and 

 to produce gold lace, silks, carpets, and other products of a tolerably 

 civilized country. At first the Pundit understood that it was a 

 month or two months' journey to the north of Lhasa, but from farther 

 inquiries during his second expedition, he made out that it was 

 considerably to the east of north, and having this hint, there was 

 no great difficulty in identifying it with the large town of Sining 

 on the borders of China proper, the only place from which such 

 civilized products were likely to reach Lhasa from the northwards. 



The Dak-korkor Camp, which the 3rd Pundit reached, lies 

 about 20 miles to the north of the Aling Gangri peaks, on the right 



