SHANGHAI
machine shops of any size. The capital, it was generally considered, was too large; at all events it seems to have tempted to over-speculation, and, as not infrequently happens in similar cases, there was found a disposition on the part of the business men to go elsewhere. Outsiders soon commenced to find openings for competition, and the result was the winding up of the old company, and the formation of a new one in 1906, under the title of the Shanghai Dock and Engineering Co., Limited. By another company the dock owned by the Chinese Government at the Arsenal at Kao Ch'ang Miao has been acquired under competent European management, and forms a formidable competitor; while one or two private firms liave started to undertake ship- building and engineering on a large scale, and with well-equipped works. From the well-appointed local yards a number of ocean-going steamers of considerable tonnage have of late years been turned out, which in their general style are fully equal to European-built vessels, so that steel and iron shipbuilding may be considered as one of the regular industries of the port. Shanghai bids fair to outrival Bombay soon as the largest manufacturing centre in Asia.
The "Astor House" in Hongkew, and the "Palace," formerly known as the "Central," in the British Concession, besides many other houses, give good hotel ac- commodation. There are six daily newspapers: the North-China Daily News, the Shanghai Times, L'Echo de Chine, and China Press, morning; the Shanghai Mercury and the Evening News, evening; and the weeklies include the North-China Herald, Celestial Empire, The Union, Finance and Commerce, The Far Eastern Review, Shipping and Engineering, The Sunday Times and Lloyd's Weckly. There are upwards of a dozen native daily papers.
These are sold at the prices of ten and eight cash, equal to about a farthing. Some of them have a circulation of 10,000 per day. The Chineso Post Office was organized by the Maritime Customs. The former Municipal Local Post was in 1898 incorporated with it. Shanghai was made a port of Registry for British ships in 1874. All foreign hongs and even private houses have to give themselves fancy Chinese names, by which only they are known to the natives. The system is, however, found to have its conveniences. The number of jinrickshas has been temporarily limited to 8,000; there were also 10,020 passenger and cargo wheelbarrows, and 308 public carriages in the Settlement, besides large numbers outside. Of private vehicles there were licensed, in 1921, 8,126 rickshas, 476 carriages, and 2,401 motor-cars,
The currency of Shanghai is the tael weight of silver-equal to 579'84 grains troy, of fineness 0.916, but reckoned at 98. That is to say, an actual weight of 98 taels is counted as 100. The Shanghai tael thus contains, or should contain, 520.43 gr. troy of pure silver, but varies owing to the crude methods of assay.
This is, however,
the mean. The silver known as "sycec" is cast into "shoes" of fifty taels, more or less. The foreign banks issue notes of the value of one dollar and upwards for both taels and dollars. Smaller transactions are conducted in clean Mexican dollars, or equivalent dollars from the various provincial mints, smaller subsidiary provincial silver coins and copper cash. There are twenty-eight foreign and numerous native banks in the Settlement. The Imperial Chinese Bank, under Chinese and European man- agement, was opened by Imperial Decree in 1896.
TRADE AND COMMERCE
Shanghai is the great emporium for the trade of the Yangtsze and Northern and Corean ports, and to some extent for Japan. The total import and export trade of 1868 amounted to sixty-five million taels. It steadily increased each year until 1881, when it reached Ilk. Tls. 141,921,357, but afterwards showed a great decline, the total for 1884 having been twenty per cent. less than that for 1881. There was, however, a rapid recovery up to 1905. From a Customs point of view 1921 stands out as a record year The total trade, import and export, for the last eight years, as returned by the Customs Statistical Department, is given below:-
1914... Hk. Tls. 498,695,147 at Ex. 1.47 Mex. $733,081,866 at Ex. 2s. 8d., £68,051,150
1915...
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549,379,765
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1916... 1917... 1918... 1919... 1920... 1921...
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571,245,672
1.41 1.54
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580,232,838
1.63
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39
627,094,382
1.61
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768,006,155
1.08
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840,969,438
1.58
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927,477,660
1.50
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$774,625,468 $979,718,335 $945,779,526 $1,009,621,955 $1,290,250,340 $1,328,731,712 $1,391,216,490
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2s. 7 d., £71,247,688 3s. 31 d., £ 94,761,328 4s. 3d., £125,263,808 5s. 3d, £165,755,416 6s. 4d., £243,201,949 68. Old., £285,579,205 38. 11., £183,321,756