I again entered civilization at Shih-tsui-tzu (officially called Shih-tsui-shan), a wretched town of 700 or 800 houses in a barren sandy plain. Three or four miles further south, however, I entered a very fertile region, between the Yellow river and the rugged A-la-shan, watered by five canals, which are supplied with water from the Yellow river, and which distribute it through countless irrigation channels over the surrounding fields.]