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CHUNGKING
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Yuan Gate, where it merges with the new Great East Road to Chengtu, over 300 miles distant, the greater part, of which has been completed and is open to traffic. The city is surrounded by a crenelated stone wall in good repair, which is some five miles in circumference, pierced with nine gates. This wall was built in 1761, replacing an older one. Part of Chungking is now electrically lighted, a native company with an authorised capital of $300,000, having been formed for that purpose. The climate of Chungking is depressing, the summer being hot and damp, the winters raw and chilly, with thick fogs from November to March. The ordinary rise of the river is about 75 feet; on 6th August, 1898, it rose to 101 ft., on 11th August, 1905, to 108 ft., on 22nd July, 1920, to 95 ft. 2 in., on 14th July, 1921, to 100ft. and 90 ft. at the beginning of August 1931. In 1908 it only attained a height of 52 feet 4 inches. According to a Chinese report, the river rose 120 feet in 1878. On the left bank of the Kialing and facing Chungking, extending below the junction of the two rivers, is the walled city formerly styled Kiangpei Ting and now known as Kiangpei Hsien. It is proposed eventually to connect the two towns by a steel bridge These two cities and the large villages in their immediate neighbourhood are estimated to contain a population of about 700,000.
TRADE IN 1931.
The port was declared open to foreign trade in 1891, since which date a large trade has been done both in imports and exports, carried in foreign chartered junks.
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Commercially Chungking and Szechuan Province in general.cannot in any way be said to have enjoyed a prosperous year. The partial arrest of the downward trend of silver and the depreciation of sterling have had little or ro cffect in the market, and a high discount rate on Shanghai is maintain- ed...ada
The decline in exports is largely to be explained by the general lack of demand abroad, but apart from that the political jealousies of the provincial warlords have imposed taxes and restrictions upon the movement of goods to such a degree that the trade in certain articles, eg musk and best qua- lity Black Bristles, has been diverted to a great extent. The ruler of Chung- king and neighbourhood has amassed considerable armaments, and has im- posed a rigid ban on the import and export in his area of all chemicals and metals that may in his view be converted to military use by his rivals. This is a great deterrent to trade in other parts of the province where business in machinery and industrial plant is increasing...
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motor motor roads, The last has hydrants in
Chungking has however seen many improvements such as street planning, a new telephone system, a waterworks etc. only recently been opened, and already distributes water to numerous parts of the city. A new and comprehensive system of electric lighting is also in prospect.
Foreign imported piece goods are being very considerably replaced by the Shanghai or Hankow woven article, but the native cottage industry is still large, imports of cotton yarn, principally, from Shanghai, being maintained. Imports of foreign dyes are on the increase, and to the list of regular im- ports must now be added motor cars, which in spite of taxation are coming in ever larger numbers, as the mileage of completed roads is extended. This is now not very far short of 2000 miles. Business in road machinery has also been done. A number of electric light plants are planned and some are already in existence in interior towns, and schemes for creating and utilising electrical power in other ways are projected.
Szechuan is a very rich and very largely self supporting to this day, but as indicated her financial position is at present very bad, and until her exports move there can be no real prosperity.
In spite of the local Navigation Bureau's efforts Chinese competition with foreign Upper River shipping is intense, and cut throat rates of freight have generally prevailed, much to the detriment of the firms involved.