About A.D. 1573, Emperor Wan-Li
reclaimed it, enclosed a space within walls, and called it Kwei-hwa
Ch'eng."
Potanin left Peking on the 13th May, 1884, for Kuku-khoto (or
Kwei-hwa-Ch'eng), passing over the triple chain of mountains dividing the
Plain of Peking from that on which Kuku-khoto is situate. The southernmost
of these three ridges bears the Chinese name of Wu-tai-shan, "the mountain
of five sacrificial altars," after the group of five peaks, the highest of
which is 10,000 feet above the sea, a height not exceeded by any mountain
in Northern China. At its southern foot lies a valley remarkable for its
Buddhist monasteries and shrines, one of which, "Shing-tung-tze," is
entirely made of brass, whence its name.
"Kuku-Khoto is the depot for the Mongolian trade with China. It contains
two hundred tea-shops, five theatres, fifteen temples, and six Mongol
monasteries. Among its sights are the Buddhist convent of Utassa, with its
five pinnacles and has-reliefs, the convent of Fing-sung-si, and a temple
containing a statue erected in honour of the Chinese general, Pai-jin-
jung, who avenged an insult offered to the Emperor of China." (Proc. R.
G. S. IX. 1887, p. 233.) - H. C.]
A passage in Rashiduddin does seem to intimate that the Kerait, the tribe
of Aung Khan, alias Prester John, did occupy territory close to the
borders of Cathay or Northern China; but neither from Chinese nor from
other Oriental sources has any illustration yet been produced of the
existence of Aung Khan's descendants as rulers in this territory under the
Mongol emperors.
