NANNING
甯南 Nan-ning
An Imperial Edict issued in 1899 authorised the voluntary opening of Nanning as a Trade Mart, but it was not until 1st January, 1907, that the port was formally opened to foreign trade. Nanning is a "Fu" city and is situated on the left bank of the Yu- kiang, the most important tributary flowing into the West River from the south, and is 368 miles above Wuchow and 213 miles below Lungchow. It lies in the centre of a wide and fertile plain at a sharp bend of the river, which here describes nearly two-thirds of the arc of a circle and, according to the report of the West River Survey of 1915, is some 400 feet above mean sea-level. The climate is healthy, the temperature in the height of summer seldom exceeding 90 degrees (F.) and in the winter not falling below 40. Nanning is the capital city of the Province and the seat of the Civil and Military Governors. About one mile south of the walled city is the area which has been set apart as the Commercial Settlement, in which are situated the foreign merchants' business offices and residences, the Customs Establishment, and the Settle- ment sub-Post Office. The Settlement was purchased out of Provincial public funds, and the laying out of roads, constructing and repairing the bund, and the maintenance of law and order within its boundaries are in the hands of a Board presided over by the Superintendent of Customs. Land within the Settlement cannot be purchased. but may be leased for a period of 30 years, and on expiry the lease may be renewed for another period of 30 years. Foreigners desiring to lease land within the Settlement must make their application through their Consul.
Next to Wuchow, Nanning is the most important port in the Province. For the last two or three years the Province has been subjected to great political unrest, which has, for the present, arrested the completion of those signs of progress which had been making such headway a few years ago. The two well-made roads--the one leading towards Wuming, and the other towards Wuchow--have been allowed to get into very bad condition and disrepair; the projected water-works to supply Nanning with a plentiful supply of good potable water remains in abeyance; the motor cars owned by the more highly-placed officials have entirely disappeared; and the Bund, which was built in 1907 by an inexperienced Chinese contractor, has fallen into ruins, most of it having subsided into the river after the annual high-water season, and now, in some places, only about 10 feet of frontage separates foreign properties from the river bank. The Provincial Authorities, upon whom the upkeep of the Bund devolves, are consulting as to what steps should be taken to repair the damage already done and to devise means for preventing the encroachments of the river during future flood seasons, but, with an empty treasury, it is feared that little, if anything, will be done.
The net value of the trade of the port was Hk. Tls. 7,985,856 in 1920, since which time commerce has been so restricted and interfered with by the political unrest as to make a comparison with any later year of no commercial value whatever. The Pro- vince abounds in natural wealth, both mineral and agricultural, and, given a period of peace and security within its borders and along its wonderful waterways and through the neighbouring province of Kwangtung to the sea, a return to prosperity would speedily ensue. The natives are not averse from progress, but the foreign capitalist is required to stimulate them and direct their ideas into new channels.