NANNING
甯南 Nan-ning
The port of Nanning, declared open to foreign trade on the 1st January, 1907, is situated on the left bank of the Tso-Kiang, one of the branches of the West River, 368 miles above Wuchow and about 195 miles below Lungchow, the frontier port on the Tonkinese border. It lies in the centre of a wide fertile plain in a sharp bend of the river, which there describes nearly two-thirds of the arc of a circle. It is a hsien city and is the seat of the Military and Civil Governors of Kwangsi Province. Below the walled city and adjacent to the lower suburbs is the site which has been set apart for a Settlement; it occupies the only spot near the city which is above high- water mark. The regulations do not allow the purchase of land on the Settlement site, but merely its lease for 30 years, which period may be extended on expiry for another 30 years. Foreigners desiring to lease land must apply through their Consul.
No
The net value of the trade of the port advanced from Hk. Tls. 1,544,000 in 1907 to Hk. Tls. 7,798,661 in 1915, but fell to Hk. Tls. 6,999,366 in 1917. The latter year, there can be no question, will long be remembered by most merchants as a very disappointing period, and as regards profits of business, more especially in the principal commodities of export, the year was undoubtedly one of the least satisfactory on record. Un- fortunately the Nanning district suffers more from trade depression than many commercial centres owing to the scarcity of its products and to the fact that, with the possible exception of aniseed oil, trade in which should be susceptible to great exten- sion as soon as normal conditions return, it possesses no specialities which are indispensable and cannot be obtained elsewhere. Stocks of foreign imports are getting low and there will be a lot of leeway to make up as soon as circumstances permit. doubt any improvement in trade has been greatly retarded by the financial crisis in the summer, which had far more reaching effects than the average person could imagine, and by the restriction limiting the export of Chinese silver coins which has continued to cause great inconvenience to traders throughout the district. Merchants are looking forward anxiously to the raising of the embargo which would be an important step in the direction of restoring order in the commerce of the district as it would facilitate fresh business and the movement of produce and merchandise from and to all parts of the province. The general shipping trade of the port remains in a depressed condi- tion. The bulk of the carrying trade is now done by motor boats, of which there is a fleet of 26 plying regularly throughout the year between Wuchow and Nanning and everything points to the fact that at last the supply has overtaken the demand. The round trip can be made by motor boat from Wuchow in five to six days during the high water season, as against the journey by junk which takes about twenty days on the upward trip only. The only Europeans residing at Nanning at present are missionaries, the Customs staff, and the representatives of 3 foreign firms.
Nanning is, next to Wuchow, the most important port on the West River. The site selected for the foreign settlement covers a very extensive area and is situated where the old city formerly stood, about a mile distant from the present walled city. The continued development of the city has necessitated the erection of the usual small houses and on practically every side of the city new shops have been opened and streets are being laid out. Work on the highroad leading from the North Gate to Wu Ming, where General Lu Jung-t'ing, Inspector General of the Two Kuangs has a large Country seat, progressed during the year, and it is expected that this road, which is to be 120 long, will be completed before the close of 1919. The building of the New West Gate and the important structural alterations and improvements in its vicinity have furnished profitable labour all round the district and contractors are said to have enjoyed a very acceptable spell of activity.
It is only to be expected that enhanced prosperity together with an influx of officials and well-to-do merchants consequent on the transfer of the capital from Kueilin, and a general spread of civilisation, should engender a desire to adopt a state of life similar to that enjoyed in other parts of the republic in closer touch with western ideas.