HAIPHONG
1107
Haiphong proper is in the midst of an extensive rice swamp with low-lying swampy land all around it for miles, having in the distance the monotony relieved by rugged ranges of low limestone hills, and beyond these to the northward, at a distance of some 16 miles, is a range of mountains, the loftiest, known as the Grand Summit, being about 5,000 feet high. Though at the time of its origin in 1884 Hai- phong
was but a mere native village in the midst of rice fields and muddy streams, it has rapidly developed into the most important commercial and industrial centre of Tonkin and the port for all home and foreign traffic. Being a new town, it has been built according to modern ideas. The streets and boulevards are wide, clean and well-shaded, and constructed for the most part at right angles. The town has a cosy and pleasing appearance, most of the houses being of the cottage type. The chief commercial and administrative buildings are the Central Post Office, City Hall, Banque Industrielle, Municipal Theatre, and Custom-house. There is a Roman Catholic Cathedral attached to the Spanish Mission, and a Protestant church, also, has been erected in the town. There is a very pretty theatre, built in 1900 by the Municipality. The Hôtel du Commerce is a large and handsome structure, its lofty mansard roof dominating every building in the town. The Cercle du Commerce, which is a well-managed club, has its domicile in the boulevard Paul Bert. racecourse is about a mile from the town on the Do Son Road. The year 1922 saw the opening of the "Cercle Sportif Haïphonnais," with a large and handsome building and extensive grounds for all forms of sport.
The
Haiphong has two public gardens, where military concerts are given on Sundays and Thursdays. The small Botanical Garden of the Lach Tray, two miles out of town, is one of the evening promenades.
The appearance of this city, agreeably disposed among trees and tropical vegeta- tion, appeals to the eye of the traveller arriving by sea on a sunny day.
The city, originally comprised within the Cua-Cam and Song-Tam Bac rivers and the Bonnal canal, soon spread beyond these narrow limits owing to the development of its commerce and industry, foreign and indigenous. The principal industrial concerns are cement works (whose products are known all over the Far East), cotton mills, rice mills, brick, tile and ceramic factories, foundries, shipbuilding yards, and an important factory (opened in the beginning of 1922) for the making of all sorts of chemical products.
The total population is 75,700, of whom 2,200 are Europeans (including 280 troops and 120 foreigners), 60,000 are Annamese, and the remainder (in order of importance) Chinese, Indian and Japanese.
Haiphong is connected with Hanoi by rail, passenger-trains running three times a day each way, and is in communication by submarine cable with Saigon and Hongkong.
MAIRIE DE HAIPHONG Administrateur Maire-G. Dupuy
DIRECTORY
ADMINISTRATION MUNICIPALE
G. Dupuy, Administrateur-Maire S. De Sourdeval, administrateur-délégué,
chef du Secrétariat
Gautier, chef des Travaux Municipaux Grémeaux, commissaire de Police Mesalle, payeur-receveur municipal Guilliot, commissaire special
CONSEIL MUNICIPAL
G. Dupuy, Adminstrateur-Maire
L. Paquin, ler. adjoint M. Gué, 2e adjoint Conseillers Municipaux Porche, Godelu, Girodolle, Martin, Caron, Martin, Caron, Fieschi, Gué, Nguyen, Ngoc Phong, Ng H. Thu, Phom van Kinh, Sy-Ky
TRÉSORERIE
Payeur de le classe-Dessalle Commis-Dumas, Beauvoir Porteur de contraintes-Prost
DIRECTION DU PORT DE COMMERCE Capitaine de Port-Viel Lieutenant de Port-Prado
Maitre de Port-Guivarch
Pilotes-Larroque, Salgé, Roses, Poinset, -
Suzzoni, Blanc, Poulain, Norel Aspirants-pilote-Bilnainie
DOUANES ET RÉGIES DE L'INDO-CHINE SOUS DIRECTION DU TONKIN Sous-Directeur-M. Duquet Inspecteur Rec. Comptable-Fournier Bureau Central, Chef-Briol S/ Chefs-Cazeres, Bouquet