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WUHU
湖蕪 Wú-hú
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This port (the name of which signifies grass and lakes," i.e., 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 Kiukiang, though nearer to the former. It has the appear- ance 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 10 to 12 feet in the summer, connects the port with the important city of Ning-kuoh-fu, in southern An-hwei 50 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 through 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 50 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 1925 was Hk. Tls. 63,225,860, as compared with Hk. Tls. 37,797,626 in 1924, Hk. Tls. 30,550,01 in 1923, Hk. Tls. 25,339,261 in 1922, and Hk. Tls. 32,992,971 in 1921. 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 districts 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 management. 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 Yu Fan Iron Mining Com- pany completed a mountain railway, about five miles long, from their mines to the river bank at Tikang, a small port 30 miles up river from Wuhu, in 1918.
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, and has been carried on with several changes of proprietorship. The Yu Chung Ti I Spinning and Weaving Joint Stock Co., Ltd., a factory owned and managed by local Chinese, with 10,000 spindles started operations in December, 1919. The Ta Ch'ang Match Factory, a Chinese concern with an equipment capable of manufacturing 2,000 gross of matches a day, began operations in March, 1921.
The town is fairly well built, with rather broader streets than most Chinese cities possess, and is tolerably paved. The tract of land selected 30 years ago for the Foreign Settlement was definitely ceded in 1906, and sites were allotted to the Anhwei Railway Company and to various shipping companies, each lot having a river frontage of 600 to 1,100 feet. In 1914 the Ministry of Communications took over the Anhwei Railway Company with its entire assets and liabilities. Bunding operations have progressed satisfactorily, and the place has taken on a decided air of prosperity. The roads in the Foreign Settlement are well laid out, forming a good promenade for