THE DESERT OF ALA-SHAN 
1235 
The sandy desert approached quite close to Ching-fan. 
In fact in some places the people had built short walls 
to check the advance of the sand-dunes, to protect the 
roads, their fields, and houses. According to the maps, 
the protecting bulwark of the famous Great Wall of China 
ought to have barricaded the Celestial Empire just at 
this place ; but although I tried my utmost to perceive it, 
I failed, unless the ruins of certain mud walls which we 
saw in a few places were relics of it. 
Before actually entering the desert, we passed a few 
solitary farms, and met numerous carts laden with dung, 
which had been gathered off the roads ; for the country 
was very bare of trees, and the people had no other fuel. 
They dry the stuff in the sun, and in that way get the 
material for the kangs or benches on which they sleep. 
On January 3rd we traversed a district that was 
unusually well cultivated. I was astonished to find that 
the river of Liang-chow-fu extended so far towards the 
north-east ; it was however at that place called Niu-ning- 
ho. From it were drawn several canals, which watered a 
long string of villages, and when it gave out the people 
had two or three wells to fall back upon. 
On January 4th we travelled for the most part across 
a barren waste, the road bending round towards the east. 
On our left we had the stream I have just mentioned, 
but it had now dwindled to a mere ribbon, not of water, 
but of ice, for it had frozen and the water had flowed 
away from underneath the crust of ice. H ere Yolldash 
cleverly caught a young antelope as it was endeavouring to 
escape across the ice. The ice broke under it, and before 
it could recover its feet, Yolldash seized it and Pfave It 
its quietus. Here again we met carts and caravans 
laden with fuel, not of the same character as before, but 
various species of steppe plants. On the left too we saw 
in the distance a low spur of hills, but I was unable to find 
the lake which is shown on the maps. I was told however, 
that at its period of summer high water the river forms a 
temporary lake near the point where it comes to an end. 
Our camping-station for that day, Ma-lo-ching, consisted 
