forests, to Bastutakelak, where it crosses the Ili-Hotien line. Thence it goes through Pachu to Kashgar where it meets the Urumochi-Iden line. After Kashgar it proceeds northwestward to the frontier where it ends. Attached to this line are two branches. The first branch proceeds from Hora southwestward through many oases to Cherchen. The second proceeds from Pachu southwestward along the Yarkand River to Sache and then westward to Puli near the frontier. This line including the branches covers a distance of about 1,600 miles. The total length of this entire system is about 16,000 miles. See general map.
PART V
The Highland Railway System
This, the last part of my railway program, is the most difficult and most expensive undertaking of its kind; consequently, it must be the least remunerative of all the railway enterprises in China. So no work should be attempted in this part until all the other parts are fully developed. But when all the other parts are well equipped with railways then railway construction in this highland region will also be remunerative, despite the difficulties and the highly expensive work in construction.
The highland region consists of Tibet, Kokonor, and a part of Sinkiang, Kansu, Szechwan, and Yunnan, an area of about 1,000,000 square miles. Tibet is known
