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EASTERN TVRKIST/N 
THE PLATEAU OF EASTERN TURKISTAN. 
Tz1s is another of the Chinese dependencies, and lies between the Tian 
Shan Mountains on the north, the Kuen Lun on the south, and the 
Pamirs on the west. Though of considerable altitude, the area is only 
half as high as the plateau of Tibet, and forms the basin of the Tarim. 
The banks of this river are fringed with poplars, willows, and tamarisks, 
and the saline swamps of Lob Nor, in which it terminates, are covered 
with reeds, which form the home of many water-fowl and wild animals. 
The region has a continental climate, and is very deficient in rain ; 
the tributaries of the Tarım deriving their waters from the snows and 
glaciers of the encircling mountains. When these rivers descend to the 
plateau, their waters can be turned to good use for irrigation; so & 
series of green oases marks the northern base of the Kuen Lun and 
the southern of the Tian Shan, contrasting sharply with the expanse of 
brown, shifting dust and sand elsewhere, and defining the two great 
trade routes of the country. These meet at Kashgar, a walled town 
that has become an important trading centre, which stands in the midst 
of a rich oasis, and commands routes by the Terek and other passes 
across the Pamirs to Western Turkistan. 
Two other important places, on oases on the southern route, are 
Yarkand, a great market for live stock and wool, and Khotan, 
where silk and leather are manufactured. South of Khotan the Kuen 
Lun are rich in gold, and south of Yarkand in jade—an ornamental 
stone which was a very important article of trade in the Middle Ages, 
and is still in request in China and Japan. 
THE PLATEAU OF MONGOLIA. 
TuS falls into two natural regions : (1) 'Che Desert of Gobi, which occupies most 
of Mongolia, and extends into Eastern Turkistan ; (2) the low plateau of Dzungaria. 
Politicallv it forms part of the Chinese Empire. 
The Desert of Gobi.—This is a high, arid region ; but, though 
much of it is a sandy waste in the west, and gravel or barren rock in the 
east, there are grassy tracts where large flocks of camels, horses, and sheep 
are reared. It forms a great natural obstacle to trade between China and 
Siberia, but is crossed by a few regular caravan toutes. One of these 
leads from Peking to Urga for Kiakhta and Irkutsk, and others to 
Dzungaria.