Editing Camel train (section)

===Speed===
According to Lattimore's diary, caravan travel in Inner Mongolia did not always follow a regular schedule. Caravans traveled or camped at any time of day or night, depending on weather, local conditions, and the  need for rest. Since the caravan traveled at the walking speed of the men, the distance made in a day (a "stage") was usually between {{convert|10|and|25|mi|km|0|abbr=on}}, depending on road and weather conditions, and distances between water sources. On occasions several days were spent in a camp without going forward, due to bad weather. A one-way trip from [[Hohhot]] to [[Qitai County|Gucheng]] ({{convert|1550|to|1650|mi|km|abbr=on|disp=or}} by Lattimore's reckoning<ref>Lattimore (1928/9), p. 100</ref>) could take anything from three to eight months.<ref name=drt50>Lattimore (1928–29), pp. 50–51.</ref>

Smaller caravans owned by Mongols of the [[Alxa League|Alashan]] (the westernmost Inner Mongolia) and manned by Han Chinese from [[Minqin County|Zhenfan]], were able to make longer marches (and, thus, cover longer distances faster) than the typical Han Chinese or Hui caravans, because the Mongols were able to always use "fresh" camels (picked from their large herd for just a single journey), every man was provided with a camel to ride, and loads were much lighter than in the "standard" caravans (rarely exceeding {{convert|270|lb|kg|1}}. These caravans would typically travel by day, from sunrise to sunset.<ref>Lattimore (1928/9), p. 168.</ref> Such a camel train is described in the accounts of the journey made by [[Peter Fleming (writer)|Peter Fleming]] and [[Ella Maillart]] in the Gobi Desert in the mid-1930s.