Dabancheng

“On arrival of the news at Urumtsi, a panic occurred amongst the officials and Chinese population, and So and Yang seized the opportunity to incite the Mahomedan population in the country round to attack the town of Ta-pan Ch’êng, not far distant from Urumtsi.”

“Work on the Tien Shan tunnel project at Tapancheng will also be advanced in the beginning of May.”

“Beyond a large salt lake is the town of Dabancheng, where buses sometimes stop at the lively Peasant-Farmers Market. The ladies of old Dabancheng were made famous by an Uygur folksong praising their beautiful long plaits. Beyond the town are the ruins of a fort built in 1870 by Yakub Beg of Kashgar and destroyed soon after by the Qing- dynasty army that was sent to put down the rebellion. From Dabancheng the road begins its descent into the Turpan Depression, leaving the railway and weaving through the rocky White Poplar Gully.”