SWATOW
Shún-tau
Swatow, which was first thrown open to foreigners by the Treaty of Tientsin, is situated at the mouth of the river Han, near the eastern border of the Kwangtung province, in lat. 23 deg. 20 min. 43 sec. N., and long. 116 deg. 39 min. 3 sec. E. It is the shipping port for the city of Cha'o-chow-fu, the seat of the local government, 35 miles inland, and San-Ho-Pa, forty miles farther up the river.
Swatow is built on the northern bank of the Han, which forms part of an alluvial plain through which the branches of the river flow. The shore on the opposite side is bold and striking, the hills stretching away to the coast and forming what is known to sea-going people as the "Cape of Good Hope"; Pagoda Hill rises at the opposite side; and in a direct line from this lies the large island of Namoa.
The first foreign trading depôt in this locality was inaugurated at Namoa, where the opium vessels used to anchor, but it was subsequently removed to Double Island, which is situated just inside the river and is four miles from Swatow. Foreigners here made themselves notorious in the early years of the settlement by the kidnapping of coolies, and so strong was the feeling shown against them by the natives that no foreigners were safe far from Double Island, while they were strictly forbidden to enter Swatow, and it was not until 1861 that they could do so. In the country round Swatow the antipathy to foreigners was of much longer duration. The British Consul was held technically to reside at Cha'o-chow-fu, and subsequent to 1861 several ineffectual attempts were made to pass through its gates. In 1866 a visit was made under more favourable circumstances, but it is only within very recent years that the population has refrained from annoyance and insult to foreigners within its walls. In 1862 the lease of a piece of land was applied for and granted to the British Government on the north bank of the river about a mile from Swatow, but so strong were the demonstra- tions of the populace against it that the matter fell through. Foreign residences, however, commenced to spring up here and there, and many of them are consequently somewhat scattered, though the majority are in or near the town of Swatow. The yearly increasing traffic of the port has led to much over-crowding on the narrow strip of land on which it is built, and since February, 1877, no less than 214 acres have been reclaimed from the sea, the greater part of which is now covered with shops and houses.
The climate of Swatow is reputed to be very salubrious. The town occupies, however, an unenviable position as regards typhoons, on account of being opposite the lower mouth of the Formosa Channel, and it has on many occasions been subjected to all the violence of these terrible storms, which almost every year sweep across the lower coast of China. The population of Swatow is estimated at 35,000.
A Chinese syndicate with a capital of two million dollars has obtained the necessary sanction for the construction of a railway from Swatow to Ch'ao-chou-fu, and as there are no formidable engineering difficulties to encounter it is anticipated that the line will be completed in two years.
The foreign trade of Swatow has never been large, but of late years it has shown a slight increase. A considerable trade is done in sugar. The China Sugar Refining Co. of Hongkong have a large sugar refinery here, but work has for some time been suspended. The import into this sugar-producing district of sugar from the Hongkong refineries showed an increase in 1902 that has been justly described as stupendous, the Hongkong product being cleaner and even cheaper than the native product. The increase in the import, which is shown in the returns for 1902, as compared with the figures of the previous year, are given in the Report of the Commissioner of Customs as follows:-"Brown Sugar, from 215 to 5,397 piculs; white sugar from 909 to 14,532 piculs; and refined sugar from 5,485 to 22,368." In 1903 foreign sugar did not do so well, the total import beign not more than 31,063 piculs. The export of Sugar in 1903 was 590,828 piculs of brown and 421,025 piculs of white. The returns show a steady decline in the last five years. A large beancake factory was also started in 1882. The net value of the trade of the port, coming under the cognisance of the Foreign Customs for 1903, was Tls. 43,792,227 against Tls. 44,590,171 in 1902, and Tls. 44,425,745 in 1901.
Original from UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN