WENCHOW
A391
situated on Conquest Island, abreast of the city. They are both of great antiquity, and the temples between them were for some time the retreat of Ti Ping, the last Emperor of the Sung dynasty, when seeking to escape from the Mongols under Kublai Khan. His Majesty Ti Ping has left behind him autographs preserved to this day in one of the temples. A few members of the Customs staff occupy foreign- built houses on the island. 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 (★#ш), across he river where several bungalows have been built.
There is no foreign settlement at Wênchow, and the foreign residents are a mere handful, consisting 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 above 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.
J
TRADE IN 1937
In a year marked by the outbreak of Sino-Japanese hostilities and the complete dislocation of trade in many parts of the country, Wenchow was fortunate in enjoy- ing not only complete immunity from disturbances but also almost unprecendented agticultural and commerical prosperity. The only serious local repercussion of the prevailing conflict was the enforced withdrawal-due to the Japanese blockade of the coast of vessels under the Chinese flag, by which this port had hitherto been exclusively served. By the regular calling of foreign-flag steamers from October on- wards, however, this temporary interruption to business was removed, and ample tonnage for trading requirements was again available. Although the smuggling of foreign merchandise into this region was of comparatively negligible proportions during the period under review, yet much of the port's trade with open ports was, as in the past, diverted via near-by inland places such as Chuangyuanch'iao, P'anshih, and Juian. Trade statistics for 1937 were as follows: direct foreign imports, valued at $842,050 as against $469,259 in 1936; coastwise importations of Chinese merchandise, $6.6 million as compared with $6.9 million; direct foreign exports, $540,657 as against $134,907; and coastwise exports of Chinese produce, $4.3 million as against $4.6 million. Direct foreign trade showed a very considerable advance in comparison with 1936. Kerosene oil, liquid fuel, white sugar, and paraffin wax, which consitituted the main imports from aboard, were chiefly responsible for the increase in the total revenue collection, which, aggregating approximately $1 million and representing an increase of about 42 per cent over the previous year's figures, was the highest recorded since the opening of the port in 1877. Direct exports included preserved eggs and salted vegetables shipped to Hongkong by foreign-going junks from Kuaot'ou Maritime Customs Station, and wood oil and fresh eggs conveved from Wenchow to the same destination by steamer, together with a few consignments of kittysols, green tea, and soapstoneware for transshipment abroad via Swatow or Shanghai. Coastwise importations comprised such main commodities as cigarettes, beancake, native sugar, groundnut oil, nankeens, and various kinds of cotton piece goods, while coastwise exportations of Chinese products were in the following respective proportions during the period: kittysols, 13.65 per cent; softwood timber, 11.10 per cent; 3rd quality paper, 7.90 per cent; charcoal, 6.32 per cent; wheat, 6.04 per cent; tea of all kinds,
.