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NANKING—WUHU
會年青敎督基
Miss F. M. Warner, R.N., superin-
tendent of nurses
Miss M. E. Wright, R.N.
館旅江子揚
Yangtse-kiang-lee-kwan
YANGTSE HOTEL-Tel. Ad: Yangtsehotel
Gi-duh Giao Tsing en-hwei
851
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF
NANKING
T. L. Chen, general secretary
P. L. Gillett, associate general sec.
Dean L. Kelsey H. R. Sweetman
WUHU
湖蕪 Wú-hu
"
This port (the name of which signifies grass and lakes," ie., swamps) was opened to foreign trade, by the Chefoo Convention, on the 1st April, 1877. It is situated on the Yangtsze, in the province of An-hwei, and is a "half-way " port between Chinkiang and Kewkiang, though nearer to the former. It has the 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 througli 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 1919 was Hk. Tls 47,88,790 as compared with Hk. Tls. 28,875,629 in 1918, Hk. Tls. 19,447,194 in 1917, Hk. Tls. 25,649,413 in 1916, and Hk. Tls. 24,262,432 in 1915.. 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. The Yü Fan Iron Mining Company completed a mountain. railway, about five miles long, from their mines to the river bank at Tikiang, a small port thirty miles up river from Wuhu, in 1918, and they commenced to ship ore in October. Wuhu is the distributing centre for most of the rice harvested in Anhwei province, and merchants from Canton, Swatow, Ningpo and Chefoo are established here to obtain supplies for their home markets. There is a large trade in timber, 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, has been carried on with several changes of proprietorship.
and The Yu Chung Ti f Spinning and Weaving Joint Stock Co, Ltd., a factory owned and managed by local Chinese, started operations in December, 1919, and its 10,000 spindles should help to develop cotton growing in the district.
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