*736
KIAOCHAU
unabated during the first half of 1907. Considerable increases in all branches of trade were effected during that period and good profits were realised, but a check was given to trade in the latter half of the year by a severe drought which ruined the crops of the Tsinan and neighbouring districts and curtailed the purchasing power of the people. The exports have increased nearly 75 per cent in three years and are now 50 per cent of the imports.
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The Bay of Kiaochau is an extensive inlet about two miles north-west of Cape Evelyn. The entrance is not more than 1 miles across, the east side being a low promontory with rocky shores, with the village of Tsingtau ("green island," from a small grassy island close to the land) about two miles from the point of the peninsula. On the west side of the entrance is another promontory with hills rising to about 600 feet. The shore here is rocky, and dangerous on the west side, but on the east side is a good stretch of sandy beach. The bay is so large that the land at the head can only just be seen from the entrance (about 15 to 20 miles away), and the water gradually gets shallower as the north side of the bay is approached. Kiaochau city stands at the north-west corner of the bay. There are two anchorages for big ships; the larger and better is round the point of the east promontory, on the north side, and the other, smaller one, at Tsingtau on the south side. A new mole was "opened on March 6th, 1904, which accommodates five vessels with berths. A second mole, was opened a few months later and a third mole for kerosene ships has since been constructed. Both have direct connection with the railway. The hills are nearly bare rock of granite and porphyry, but an extensive scheme of afforestation has been decided upon. The soil of the valleys between the ranges and the plain country on the north-east is alluvial and very fertile, and is carefully cultivated. Wheat, barley, millet, maize, and many other grains in smaller quantities are grown. The foreign residential quarter at Tsingtau has been well laid out, and there is a good foreign Hotel. The first sod of the Shantung Railway was cut by Prince Henry of Prussia in October, 1899, and the line to Chinanfu was opened on the 1st June, 1904. It did a prosperous business in 1905, and the returns for 1906 showed an increase of 30.4 per cent. in goods traffic and 6.2 in the passenger traffic. In 1907 the returns showed an increase of 5.74 per cent. in passengers and 9 per cent. in goods and cattle.
The passengers carried numbered 896,027. The coal mines are progressing favourably. The output of the Shangtung Mining Co., at Fangtse in 1906 was 163,233 tons. Silk factories, a brewery, soap factory, and a tannery are in full
full work, but owing to a strike and subsequently a scarcity of miners the output in 1907 was not more than 145,000 tons. Fruit grafting is just becoming a promising enterprise. The development of the town of Tsingtau has made considerable progress; the town is partly fit by electricity, houses are springing up in all directions, and a system of water supply has now been completed. The new harbour works are progressing. The outer breakwater and two piers have been in use since March, 1904. The dry dock commenced operations in October, 1905, and continues to expand. The dock employs 36 Europeans and during its first year of operation__found employment for an average of 1,000 Chinese workmen. There are two German newspapers published, a weekly paper called the Kiautschou Post and a daily paper called Tsingtao Neueste Nachrichten. The climate is temperate, and it is expected that the Bay will in course of time become a summer resort for the residents of Shanghai, there being an excellent bathing beach. The net value of the trade of the port for 1907 was Tls. 28,637,889, against Tls. 30,512,381 in 1906, and Tls. 22,322,680 in 1905. These figures illustrate the way in which Kiaochau is advancing to the front as a trade emporium. Kiaochau has become the principal market in North China for straw braid. Passengers and goods now freely move to and from the hinterland without any Customs control or restriction. The revenue of the Colony for the current year is estimated at 1,725,800 marks, as compared with 1,542,700 marks in 1907, and the treasury contribution is fixed at 10,601,600 marks, about one million less than in 1907.