From Pekin to Calais by Land

The narrator recounts an overland passage between China and Western Europe, describing travel by house-boat, mule litter and camel caravan across the Great Gobi Desert, and by tarantass and river steamers through Siberia. Practical route details, delays, outfit choices and embassy assistance appear alongside vivid evocations of Pekin and caravan towns, bleak stretches of steppe, and the melancholy atmosphere of Siberian stations. Encounters with local customs, difficult post-houses, scenes of convict transport and the challenges of climate and roads punctuate a measured record of impressions, hardships, landscapes and logistical practicalities gathered during the slow, often monotonous pilgrimage.