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208
EAST ASIA.
may yet be found summits rivalling those of the Himalayas
themselves. The best
known at present are the Ngomi-shan, ascended in 1879 by the missionary Riley ;
the Siwelung-shan, or " Dragon of the Snows ;
" the neighbouring " White Cloud,"
14,000 to 15,000 feet ; the " Seven Nails," a seven-peaked pyramid, 18,000 to
20,000 feet (Gill); farther north the Shipangfang, apparently
about the same
height, with a side pass between two tributaries of the Min, 13,500 feet.
The West Sechuen and Tibeto-Chinese frontier ranges receive a sufficient
quantity of moisture under the form of snow and rain. There being no higher
elevations between them and the Bay of Bengal, they are exposed to the direct
influence of the moist winds, and in some places, such as Litang and Mupiii, there
are said to be daily showers throughout the summer. Hence the vegetation
is marvellously luxuriant, especially in the sheltered valleys. The slopes even of
the higher valleys rising above the zone of arborescent vegetation are covered
for three months with magnificent pastures, which disappear beneath the snow
Feet.
10,000
7,600
3,750
Fig.
95. FROM THE MIN VALLEY TO TATSIENLU.
According to Gill.