merchandise of Mongolia; thousands of donkeys, carrying bags of flour
from the more luxuriant southern plains; cartloads of tobacco and paper
from the large cities in the south of the province, and caravans of
travellers; whole families packed into large carts moving to some new
home; mat-covered litters swung between two mules and heavily curtained,
in which the wives of an official are transported to their new abode;
pedestrians, clad in sky-blue cotton, "yamen runners" yelling as they
ride at furious speed to clear the way before them, and bearers of
burdens combine to form a moving picture of interest and beauty upon the
_Big Road_, as it is called.

Not least interesting among the wayfarers are the Lhamas from distant
Thibet nearing the end of their long pilgrimage to the famous holy
mountain Wutai, where each one hopes to be granted the vision of the
famous opening lotus. For many months, stretching into years, this hope
has sustained them through the weary pilgrimage. From the threshold of
their Lhama home they have walked every step of the thousand and more
miles, some at every tenth, some at every fifth step, touching the
ground with their forehead, and some measuring the whole length of the
way with their outstretched body on the road.

As the traveller enters Hwochow from the north, he crosses a bridge,
passing on his right a large metal cow. Beyond, flows the Fen River, and
before him is the city gate. To this brazen image is committed the
important function of guarding Hwochow from flood, and so successfully
does it accomplish its task that dryness and drought are the normal
condition of the countryside!

Turning to the east he faces the magnificent range of the Ho Mountains,
in winter covered with snow, and in warmer seasons touched with the
beauty of ever-changing colour. These mountains are part of the range
which, farther north, is traversed by the famous Lingshih Pass.

Excepting in the early summer months when patches of vivid green
indicate the fields of growing wheat, the landscape is of a uniform
shade which is best described as _khaki_. Owing to the friable nature of
the soil formation known as _loess_, the traveller, whether journeying
from north or south, finds himself in a succession of deep gullies.

This wheat-growing land was formerly given over to the cultivation of
the opium poppy, and for miles over the plain the wonderful iridescent
bloom gave the appearance of a sea of changing li