【正】 Literally millions of stars filled the clear sky, yet no hu man light broke the darkness of the ground. Train 89 from Beijing had entered Inner Mongolia, the vast Au tonomous Region occupying much of northern China. I could not sleep. I was transfixed with this natural wonder until the darkness gradually gave way to the soft glow of early morning. A few trees grew alongside the clear waters of nameless shallow streams that irrigated small plots of grain or potatoes. Most of the land however was empty - a mixture of scanty grasslands and semi-desert stretching towards distant jagged mountains. This was "Big Sky Country". Occasionally small settlements built with earth-bricks appeared. Smoke drifted up from houses inside walled compounds. Piles of straw and winter cabbages stood outside. Wooden fences penned a few cattle and horses in. Goats were tethered on long ropes. Dogs were disturbed by the train.