A144
TSINAN
With the introduction of the use of machinery Tsinan is becoming more important as an industrial city. There are now about 40 industrial establish- ments which can claim to be, more or less, modern factories:-7 flour mills turning out 22,000 bags per day, 2 match factories, 3 cotton mills, several hair net factories, paper, iron and brass goods, soap, dye, leather, needles, wine, cloth, etc., factories, and a press packing plant.
Tsinan is connected by rail with Tsingtao (Kiaochow), distant 280 miles Tientsin 200 miles, and with Pukow on the Yangtsze. It is also connected by a small river now in process of canalization, with Yang Chao Kou, on the Gulf of Chihli, distant 146 miles, whence there are occasional steamers to Chefoo. Tsinan stands five miles south of the Huang-ho or Yellow River, and in spite of some difficulties of navigation there is a considerable junk traffic between its river port of Lo-kou and the Grand Canal, which enters the river 80 miles higher up. This trade is almost, if not quite, entirely with the south, to Tsiningchou and beyond, since the canal from the Huangho northward to Lin-ching-chou has been unnavigable for several years. The high road from Tsinan to the north crosses the Huang-ho by a large wooden bridge at Lo Kou built in 1939, 5 miles away and at Chi-ho Hsien, distant 16 miles. Since the opening in 1912 of the railway bridge over the Yellow River a Lo Kou through communication. has been established on the Tsin Pu Railway from Peiping and Tientsin to Pukow and Shanghai via Tsinan
Bus lines are being operated in five directions to points more than 100 miles distant. Large motor trucks are also being put into service to replace the native carts for hauling cotton and overland freight.
Some ten Protestant and the Roman Catholic Missions are conducting extensive work in and around Tsinan. There are more than 270 American, English and European persons resident in the Settlement and suburbs of the city.
The whole city is lighted by electricity. A new unit as large as the original plant has been completed this year. Great activity has recently been evinced in building colleges and schools, and among the interesting institutions of the town the Tsinan Institute, now connected with the Shantung Christian University is a remarkable and very interesting establishment that should not be overlooked. The northern sacred mountain of China, Tai Shan (5,100 feet), is distant some 50 miles (65 by road) to the south, at Tai An on the T. P. R. R. Kufu, the birthplace and the tomb of Confucius, and the residence of the Confucian duke, are about 100 miles away in the same direction, reached by Chinese cart, being situated some ten miles from the Kufu (Chufu) station on the T. P. R. R. These two historic points are of interest to tourists. Accommodations and guides can be arranged for through the American Methodist Mission in Tai An.
On December 26, 1937 the Japanese forces occupied Tsinan. A joint government has been established under Japanese and Chinese officials. The Japanese population has already increased to about 8,000, and much of the business and manufacturing has already been taken over by the Japanese. Plans are being laid for future expansion of the city to twice its present size. Already areas are being designed for residential, business, and factory developments. Several new roads are already under construc- tion in the environs of the city. Conditions are quiet in the city but business is at a low ebb.