A Description of Tankar from 1843 by Huc and Gabet

Arriving in Tankar in 1843, Huc and Gabet described it thus:

[Tankar] is a small town, but very populous, very animated, and very full of business. It is a regular town of Babel, wherein you find collected Easter Thibetians, Houng-Mao-Eul (Long-haired folks), Elents, Kolos [?thieves], Chinese, Tartars from the Blue Sea [Kokonor], and Mussulmans, descended from the ancient migrations from Turkestan [Salar]. Everything in the town bears the impression of violence. Nobody walks the streets without a great sabre at his side, and without affecting, at least, a fierce determination to use it on the shortest notice. Not an hour passes without some street combat.

(Huc and Gabet 1970 [1852]: 236)

References: 
Travels in Tartary, Thibet and China, 1844-1846
Place Reference: 

Tongkhor

སྟོང་འཁོར་
湟源
huáng yuán

Rockhill's Description of Tankar from 1888

Rock, 2004 [1891], visited in 1888 (1889?)

Tankar (Tan-ka-erh) is a sub-prefecture (t'ing), and the most westerly frontier town in this part of Kan-su... Its population of Chinese and Tibetans is not over 10,000, exclusive of a garrison of a nominal force of 200 men under a colonel (Hsieh-t'ai). During the rebellion of the Mohammedans it suffered greatly, and it is said that nearly 10,00 of them were killed by the imperial troops when it fell into their hands. p.109

imports from Lhasa include:
'phrug
incense
saffron from Kashmir
Buddhist books
brown sugar

A Description of Tankar from 1843 by Huc and Gabet