mountain streams yet it is very sparsely populated, owing to the lack of means of communication. When this line is completed, this strip of land will be most valuable to Chinese colonists. The line starts from Ansichow westward to Tunhwang, and skirts the southern edge of the Lobnor Swamp to Chochiang. From Chochiang, it proceeds in the same direction via Cherchen to Iden where it connects with the terminus of the Northwestern System. With this System, it forms a continuous and direct line from the Great Eastern Port to Kashgar at the extreme west end of China. This line from Ansichow to Iden is about 800 miles in length.
i. The Chochiang-Koria Line
This line runs across the desert alongside the lower part of the Tarim River. The land on both sides of the line is well watered and will be valuable for colonization as soon as the railroad is completed. This line is about 250 miles in length and connects with the line that runs along the northern edge of the desert. It is a short cut between fertile lands on the two sides of the desert.
m. The Great Northern Port-Hami Line
This line runs from the Great Northern Port in a northwesterly direction by way of Paoti and Siangho to Peking. From Peking it runs on the same track with the Peking-Kalgan Railway to Kalgan, where it
