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EAST ASIA.
the very verge of the desert. Farther down the historic city
of Ninghia, a former
emporium of trade with Mongolia, and capital of an independent state in the tenth
and eleventh centuries, still presents an imposing appearance with its pagodas,
lofty brick iwalls, and ramparts. Below Ninghia the chief places
are Baotu
(Bichukhai), on the left bank, and Chagan-kuren, near the north-eastern angle of
the Ordos peninsula. South of the Great Wall the stronghold of Paote guards the
chief passage leading across the Hoang-ho, between the provinces
of Shensi and
Shansi.
Here the stream is scarcely 450 yards broad.
South of the Ordos peninsula the chief stations on the great historic highway
between the two bends of the Hoang-ho are marked by the towns of Pi>igliang-fn,
Kinclicn; and P incline, all of which were enabled by their strong ramparts to resist
the Dungan rebels. But all the surrounding lands were wasted, and the Dungan
prisoners themselves have since been employed in repairing the damage done and
raising extensive defensive works against similar outbreaks in the future. A grotto
near Pinchew contains the largest and most famous statue of Buddha in Central
China. It is about 56 feet high, and flanked by two others half the size, representing
two disciples pointing at the divinity. In the Wei-ho valley the chief place is
Kunchew, below which, on the same river, lies the administrative town of Fuchang-
hien, near a hill surmounted by another colossal Buddha. Farther south, on the
banks of a tributary of the Wei-ho, rise the pagodas and domes of Tsingchew,
which forms a group of five municipalities with a common mayor, but each
surrounded by a separate enclosure of high walls. Tsingchew is a large mart for
tea, tobacco, and indigo, and has some silk embroidery and metal industries.
Singan-fu, the chief town of Shensi, and capital of the Middle Kingdom under the
Tsin dynasty (906 to 1280), is still one of the largest places in the empire, being
exceeded in population probably 'by Canton alone. It stands in a plain at the
confluence of the AVei-ho, King-ho, and a few other smaller streams, and each of
its square walls facing the cardinal points is over 6 miles long, and pierced in the
centre by a monumental gate with lofty pavilions. Thanks to its central position
and fertile soil, Singan has for thousands of years been a commercial city of the
first class, and although none of its old buildings have been preserved, it contains a
rare archaeological collection of designs and inscriptions some two thousand years
old, and of great historical importance. During the late Dungan revolt the
fifty thousand Mohammedans of Singan were interned within the walls under pain
of death, and the inhabitants were with difficulty prevented from exterminating
them.
On the Wei-ho, below Singan-fu, lies the formerly important town of Hoa-clictr,
where the terrible outbreak began in 1860 which devastated so many flourishing
lands and cost the lives of millions of their inhabitants. Of this place nothing
now remains except one of the oldest monuments in the empire, a temple erected
at the beginning of the Christian era. In the district the largest place now is the
fortress of Tiing-kirnn, or "The East Gate," which is the central stronghold of the
Houng-ho basin, and one of the best-defended points in China. Occupying a vital
position where the Hoang-ho, after receiving three copious affluents, suddenly