We were sorry not to be able to see more of this town, which has been made famous by Huc and Gabet, Younghusband, and others; but here, as throughout China, "absence without leave" and "reasons in writing" were our bugbears. Especially did we regret not being able to see more of this temple, which is known as "Wu Tai" Temple, and is covered from top to bottom with figures of Buddha ranged in rows, and of a very interesting Manchu city which lies about two miles north-east of Kuei Hua Cheng, and is called Sin Chen, or the "New City." This was the only Manchu city we had a chance of seeing, and its broad streets, planted with trees, and frequented alike by men and women, would have been a strong contrast to the ordinary Chinese town.
While still waiting for the pickaxe a large flock of our old friends the sand-grouse passed over our heads, bringing to our minds the days of plenty and days of hunger we had passed on the Chang. Almost immediately the pickaxe arrived, and we made a fresh start, and for the first time the road showed some signs of having had a little labour expended on it. Previously there had been nothing but rough tracks through or round the fields, or, when this became invisible, the carters would make a road for themselves. The general direction was well known to them, and sooner or later they would strike the track again; nor was it hard to tell when they had done so, as a drop into a rut some eighteen inches deep was an unmistakable sign that we were on the highroad to Pekin, which is, in the opinion of the Chinese, incomparably the finest road in the world. To-day, however, we came across some really neatly-made bridges in excellent repair, but evidently only intended for travellers on foot or on horseback, as, at one end or the other, there was invariably a gap some two feet wide, effectually stopping wheeled traffic, so that all carts had to go through the water. Ninety li was the day's journey, taking us to Shih-Rong-Wa, where we stopped the night.
BUDDHIST TEMPLE. OUTSIDE KUEI HUA CHENG, CHINA.
Next day was uneventful, but we ascended gradually to a little village called Cha-Ha-Pa-La, 100 li, and got quite into the mountains again, very different country from what we had passed through since leaving Pao T'eo. The soil here appeared very rich, and every available patch of land was cultivated. Every day we used to pass through numerous villages, and in one we were lucky enough to come in for a theatrical entertainment. No village is without its theatre, and performances are frequent in the season; but as it was now the dull time we only saw one. The theatre is always situated close to, generally opposite, the city temple, a great convenience to the Taoist priests, who are also the theatrical managers. The play did not appear exciting, and neither of us understood a word of it, which was perhaps just as well, so we left after a very few minutes. The theatres being in the open, no entrance money is charged. The audience come and go as they please, but are expected to drop a small contribution into a collection box which is continually being handed round. This system has the further advantage of enabling the actors to converse freely with friends below when not otherwise engaged.
From Cha-Ha-Pa-La we made an early start, as we heard that the night's halting-place was to be a fair-sized town, and we wanted to arrive early so as to renew our supplies. We were pretty high up, and as it was now very near the end of November, the mornings were uncommonly cold. Rijnhart, Malcolm, Lassoo, and Esau all started walking, while Shahzad Mir and I followed with the carts. Not far from the village we crossed a low pass into a lovely wide valley, and a little further on the party ahead managed to take a wrong turn. I went on with the carts, and got to our midday halting-place about ten o'clock, and there I had to sit and wait till the others should come up. I managed to make out, by drawings in the dust and other devices, that there was another road to Pekin, which the others must have taken, and by which they would get to our destination in seventeen days. Not thinking they were likely to be quite so long in finding out their mistake, I resolved to have my breakfast and await their arrival. After a couple of hours' waiting I was beginning to get a little bit anxious, and was considering what steps I had better take if, by any chance, they did not arrive before nightfall. However, at about one o'clock they hove in sight, so I immediately had the mules harnessed, while Shahzad Mir warmed up some tea.
In a few minutes Rijnhart and Malcolm were at the inn, but the two men were some way behind, and while waiting for them to come up, I heard how they had managed to miss us. It appeared that, when they missed the road, all the Chinese they had met had misled them by saying that they were right, and it was not till late in the day that they got into the proper road and arrived at the halting-place, after walking fully thirty miles.
"We were soon ready for a fresh start, but the carters, anxious for any excuse to back out of their agreement as long as the fault could be laid at our door, were very reluctant, but threats to cut off half their hire prevailed, and we were quickly on the move. The march was a long one, over rolling grassy plains, out of Chinese into Mongolian country. As the sun set a cold wind rose, and for some time we sat shivering on the carts. The carts were travelling very fast, as the going was excellent. We thought we should never get to our destination, but all the time we were buoyed up with the thought that, at all events, we should get to a big place where there was sure to be a good inn. At last they told us that Ho-Lo-Si-T'ai, our goal, was close by, and in a few minutes we saw, not the town with castellated walls that we had imagined, but two miserable wayside inns with large yards full of sheep and camels, as unpromising a spectacle as one could wish to see.
On inquiry, things proved even worse than they had at first appeared, for both inns were crammed full, and we could not find a spot to sleep in. At last we heard that there was a room in a small house close by, so round we went, only to find it tenanted by a man, two women, a sheep, and some children, a fair supply for a place about twelve feet square, but into it we squashed, until we had revived our circulation, and then, after a considerable amount of squabbling, we arranged that we would sleep in the carts, while the carters occupied the already overcrowded room, for the simple reason that the carters flatly refused to take us any further unless they slept inside the house and we outside. Perhaps, after all, the cold blast was preferable to dirt and a close atmosphere.