But Pauthier’s MS. C (and its double, the Bern MS.) has viii. marches instead of xx., through the mountains of Cuncun.  This reduces the time between Kenjanfu and the Plain to 11 days, which is just about a proper allowance for the whole journey, though not accurately distributed.  Two days, though ample, would not be excessive for the journey across the Plain of Han-chung, especially if the traveller visited that city.  And “20 days from Han-chung, to Ch’eng-tu fu would correspond with Marco Polo’s rate of travel.” (Richthofen).

So far then, provided we admit the reading of the MS. C, there is no ground for hesitating to adopt the usual route between the two cities, via Han-chung.

But the key to the exact route is evidently the position of Acbalec Manzi, and on this there is no satisfactory light.

For the name of the province, Pauthier’s text has Acbalec Manzi, for the name of the city Acmalec simply.  The G.T. has in the former case Acbalec Mangi, in the latter “Acmelic Mangi qe vaut dire le une de le confine dou Mangi.”  This is followed literally by the Geographic Latin, which has “Acbalec Mangi et est dictum in lingua nostra unus ex confinibus Mangi.”  So also the Crusca; whilst Ramusio has “Achbaluch Mangi, che vuol dire Citta Bianca de’ confini di Mangi.”  It is clear that Ramusio alone has here preserved the genuine reading.

Klaproth identified Acbalec conjecturally with the town of Pe-ma-ching, or “White-Horse-Town,” a place now extinct, but which stood like Mien and Han-chung on the extensive and populous Plain that here borders the Han.

It seems so likely that the latter part of the name Pe-MACHING ("White Maching”) might have been confounded by foreigners with Machin and Manzi (which in Persian parlance were identical), that I should be disposed to overlook the difficulty that we have no evidence produced to show that Pemaching was a place of any consequence.

It is possible, however, that the name Acbalec may have been given by the Tartars without any reference to Chinese etymologies.  We have already twice met with the name or its equivalent (Acbaluc in ch. xxxvii. of this Book, and Chaghan Balghasun in note 3 to Book I. ch. lx.), whilst Strahlenberg tells us that the Tartars call all great residences of princes by this name (Amst. ed. 1757, I. p. 7).  It may be that Han-chung itself was so named by the Tartars; though its only claim that I can find is, that it was the first residence of the Han Dynasty.  Han-chung fu stands in a beautiful plain, which forms a very striking object to the traveller who is leaving the T’sing-ling mountains.  Just before entering the plains, the Helung Kiang passes through one of its wildest gorges, a mere crevice between vertical walls several hundred feet high.  The road winds to the top of one of the cliffs in zigzags cut in the solid rock.  From the temple of Kitau Kwan, which stands at the top of the cliff, there is a magnificent view of the Plain, and no traveller would omit this, the most notable feature between the valley of the Wei and Ch’eng-tu-fu.  It is, moreover, the only piece of level ground, of any extent, that is passed through between those two regions, whichever road or track be taken. (Richthofen, MS. Notes.)