}
CHUNGKING
慶 重 Chung-king
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The city of Chungking, situated in lat. 29 deg. 33 min. 56 sec, N., long. 106 deg. 30 min. E., may well be described as not only the commercial capital of Szechuen but of the whole of Western China. The foreign import trade centres here, and is then distributed by a smaller class of trading junks up the various rivers of the province, The city occupies the end of a high and rocky bluff forming a peninsula, at the junction of the river Kia-ling with the Yangtsze, 1,400 miles from the mouth of the latter. The principal streets of the city, in which are many fine shops, are on the side of the Yangtsze, while a new malu has now been driven right through the heart of the city work still continuing upon it in different directions, and out by way of the Tung Yuan Gate, where it merges with the new Great East Road to Chengtu, over 300 miles distant, 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 liaving 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 100 ft. 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 Chung- king, 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.
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 at first in foreign chartered junks, but for the last ten years in steain and motor vessels.
TRADE IN 1932
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The port of Chungking had a few undisturbed weeks at the beginning of January: from the end of January to April the port suffered from the effects of the hostilities at Shanghai, and from April to the end of the year there were wars within the province. As the fighting in the former area continued, the Chungking export trade practically came to a standstill. Large quantities of cargo were held up en route to Shanghai, and in view of the possible extension of the Japanese invasion to other Yangtsze ports, the return of these cargoes to Chungking was even contemplated by the consignors. Sino-Japanese relations remaining as strained as ever after the truce to military operations at Shanghai had been declared, the activities of boycotters led to the virtual stoppage of any exchange of commodities with Japan, Korea and Manchuria. Trade circles had no sooner got over worrying about the "undeclared war" at Shanghai than warfare broke out nearer home, and the Szechwan forces were soon engaged in repelling the attacks of Tibetan tribes. This warfare on a small scale was in turn succeeded by a much more serious outbreak of hostilities, this time between Generals Liu Hsiang and Liu Wen-hui, during which the important towns of Chengtu, Kiating, Luchow and Suifu were the scene of severe fighting and were subjected to bombardment from aircraft and gun-boats as well as from land forces. Civilian losses in lives and property were very heavy. Towards the end of December the "red" armies that had been driven out of Hupeli took advantage of the situation to penetrate and occupy several towns in the north of the province, and the need for -opposing this invasion helped to bring hostilities to an end between the rival
generals.