'932
WENCHOW
built houses on the island. The estimated population of the city with its suburbs was 202,752 at the end of 1927. There were Boxer troubles in the Pingyang district, several Christians being murdered, in 1900, and all the missionaries left Wênchow, where, however, the officials were able to maintain order. During the summer months some of the foreign residents repair to the Northern Hills (H), across the river where several bungalows have been built.
There is no foreign settlement at Wênchow, and the foreign residents are a mere handful, consisting almost entirely of officials and missionaries. There is a consider- able native export trade in tea, bitter oranges, tobacco, timber, charcoal, bamboos and kittysols, but manufactures do not flourish, though some excellent floor-matting and cross-stitch work are produced by local factories. The firms engaged in the timber trade are located in the west suburb, where are also the timber yards. Immense quantities of timber and bamboos are kept on hand.
During August and September of 1912 two abnormal freshets occurred in the Wênchow river, causing immense destruction of life and property. In the upper reaches of the main river the water rose 60 feet åbove normal level, washing away villages and carrying away houses bodily. Some 30,000 people are reported to have been drowned. in the Yungchia, Chingtien, Ch'uchow and Juian magistracies. Such a calamity was unprecedented within the memory of the oldest inhabitant. Two particularly severe typhoons in the summer of 1920 caused enormous damage in the neighbourhood. Haimen, a neighbouring city, about 85 miles by sea north-east of Wenchow, was partially destroyed on July 15th by a tidal wave with great loss of life; while in the Nanchi River valley, opposite Wenchow, an equally large loss of life was reported in the second typhoon between September 4th and 6th. In August 1923 and 1926 this port was visited by severe typhoons, although they did not cause much damage either afloat or
ashore.
TRADE IN 1929
The net value of trade passing through Wenchow during 1929 was a record for the port. The start of the year gave farmers every reason to anticipate a season of abund- ant harvests: the spring weather was favourable, and the early crops of wheat and rape seed were plentiful. Unfortunately, however, Wenchow was overwhelmed by the worst famine known in the last half-century. Typhoons and freshets from the mountain streams devastated the rice plantations, but the worst enemy was a species of insect which proved even more harmful than the locust, and the whole year's rice crop became a total failure, and potato cuttings-a good substitute for rice for the poor-commanded a high price. In consequence, enormous quantities of rice had to be imported, and the reduced purchasing power of the people is reflected in the limited imports of other foreign and native goods. In the early part of the year a number of vessels on the Shanghai-Foochow run called en route to Shanghai to relieve the vast quantities of rape seed awaiting shipment to foreign markets. Wood oil for America was in large demand. The exemption from duty of kitty sols when exported abroad was responsible for good markets being found in Singapore and Java. The first parcels of Wenchow tea realised good prices at Shanghai, but the market subsequently became dull, resulting in large quantities being kept in stock at Shanghai to be disposed of in the following year. The net value of the trade of the port coming under the cognisance of the Maritime Customs for 1929 was Hk. Tls., 14,549,879, as compared with Hk. Tls. 12,440,109 in 1928, Hk. Tls. 11,541,356 in 1927, Hk. Tls. 10,660,706 in 1926, and Hk. Tls. 9,166,874 in 1925.
DIRECTORY
司公油火亞細亞商英
Ying shang a si a kung sz
ASIATIC PETROLEUM Co. (NORTH CHINA),
LTD.-Tel. Ad: Doric
C. A. Butland
司公煙美英華駐
BRITISH-AMERICAN TOBACCO Co. (CHINA),
LTD.-Tel. Ad: Powhattan
Z. L. Tsu, manager
L. F. Zia, assist. manager