Directory_and_Chronicle_1919

WUHU

755-

appearance of a thriving and busy town, and is admirably located for trade. This is mainly owing to the excellence of its water communication with the interior. A large canal, with a depth of five to six feet of water in the winter and ten to twelve feet in the summer, connects the port with the important city of Ning-kuoh-fu, in southern An-hwei, fifty miles distant. Another canal runs inland for over eight miles in a south-westerly direction to Taiping-hsien, an extensive tea district. This canal, which is only navigable in the summer, passes through Nan-ling and King-hsien, where the cultivation of silk is carried on, and may some day be of importance. The silk districts of Nan-ling and King-hsien are situated within fifty miles of Wuhu. Besides the canals leading to Ning-kuoh-fu and Taiping-hsien, there are two others communicating with Su-an and Tung-pó.

It will be seen from the above enumeration of the facilities for water carriage from Wuhu that it is calculated to prove an emporium for commerce. The value of the trade of the port for the year 1917 was Hk. Tls. 19,447,194 as compared with Hk. Tls. 25,649,413- in 1916, Hk. Tls. 24,262,432 in 1915, Hk. Tls. 22,530,041 in 1914 and Hk. Tls. 20,223,604 in 1913. Coal may some day become a considerable article of export from Wuhu, both native and foreign capital having been directed to the great coal fields of the province. The China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company are interested in several coal dis- tricts and have expended large sums in the opening of their mining property; the output has thus far been small, owing to the lack of proper machinery and manage- ment. The Chin Kang Company, a wealthy native syndicate, have a Government permit to open mines in several districts and have been prospecting with a view to developing their property in the near future. A number of smaller companies are operating at present with the sanction of the above Corporation, to whom they pay a royalty. Two companies representing foreign capital-the Yangtsze Land and Investment Company, Limited, and the I Li Coal and Mining Company, Limited- have purchased a number of the most valuable mining properties in the immediate neighbourhood of Wuhu.

There is a large trade in timber in Wuhu, but that, like all other trades, is in the hands of the Chinese. There is a steam flour mill, a soap factory and a brick and tile. manufactory. The soap does not sell well. The preservation of egg yolk and albumen is an industry which was started in 1897, and has been carried on with several changes of proprietorship.

The town is fairly well built, with rather broader streets than most Chinese cities possess, and is tolerably paved. The tract of land selected 30 years ago for the foreign settlement was definitely ceded in 1906, and sites were allotted to the Anhwei Railway Company and to various shipping companies, each lot having a river frontage of 600- to 1,100 feet. In 1914 the Ministry of Communications took over the Anhwei Railway Company with its entire assets and liabilities. Bunding operations have progressed satisfactorily, and the place has taken on a decided air of prosperity. The roads in the Foreign Settlement have now been completed and are well laid out, forming a good promenade for those who care to avail themselves of walking exercise

Four large godowns have been built by Messrs. Butterfield & Swire on their ground in the New Settlement for storing rice, and Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co., have also acquired property in the vicinity. On the plots of ground acquired by the Asiatic Petroleum and the Standard Oil Companies below I-Chi-Shan, a hill which forms the lower boundary of the Foreign Settlements, the former company has erected oil godowns and the latter has also established premises. The Electric Light Co. appear to be doing well, for electric lighting has superseded that of oil to a great extent. The population of Wuhu is estimated at 100,000.

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