June 17, 1897.] HONGKONG TO WUCHOW DIRECT
· BY STEAMSHIP “WING TONG"
“CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
rounded by an imposing wall. Between Sam- shni and the River is situated an imposing nine- storied Pagoda which from its smart appearance The steamship Wing Tong, commanded by has either been built or restored in compara- Capt. C. G. Jones (Agents, Messrs. Butterfieldtively recent years. Some three miles up the & Swire), is the first vessel under the British greek (leading we are told to Fatshan) lies a flag which has taken advantage of the opening large, well built city called Sinam, in which of the West River and made the trip direct place all the business of the district is from Hongkong to Wuchow via Macao and carried on. Leaving our anchorage at Kong Kun we steamed up river towards Sui Hing the Moto Man channel,
and at 12 o'clock entered the great pass, at which point the river rushes between preci- pitous cliffs, being at this point not more than a few hundred yards in width. The current being very strong we were steaming barely five miles an hour against it. This pass is about five miles long and is one the most striking features of the voyage to Wuchow. The moun- tains on each side are from 1,500 to 2,500 feet in height, with bold, well-defined peaks and numberless watercourses and valleys, and a fair amount of foliage pleasing to the eye. At the far end of the pass the river opens out and the wide valley of Sui Hing (the ancient capi- tal of Kwangtung) comes into view.
Leaving Hongkong at 7 p.m. on Friday, 4th June, a fair passage was experienced as far as Macão, which place was passed at 11.30, and as from this point the channel leading into the West River is practically unknown, the captain decided to anchor and wait for daylight before proceeding further.
Saturday, 5th June.-Up anchor at daybreak, and cautionsly feeling our way we at length found ourselves in the Broadway of the West River and proceeding up the Moto Man channel, which, except for two shallowish bars,
offers no difficulty to an experienced sailor in charge of a light draught boat. From this point the scenery begins to assume a striking and varied aspect. Sharp peaks in the distance, frowning rocks and low tree-capped hills, over and anon pass before the eye, while from the snugly situated villages hidden away in the sheltered valleys the astonished natives make their ap- pearance startled by the sound of our far- reaching steam whistle, and stand gazing, filled with delight at the gay and pleasing spectacle of the Wing Tong dressed in her best and resplendant with the colours of the alphabet of flags.
10 am. found us at the entrance to the Kong Moon creek, and here our passage was temporarily barred by an obstacle in the shape of a waspish looking steam-launch flying the Chinese Dragon and owned by the Imperial Maritime Customs. The delay, however, was launch, the Fu-Mens-Tsai (whose commander not of long duration, and piloted by the above having arrived
previons day
the
had
made good use of the leisure at his dis- posal), we proceeded to make our way up the creek, and when within abont three miles of the town we. dropped anchor and hailed a sampan to convey our passengers to their destination.
After a delay of three hours to enable our com-
In the valley behind the city some peculiar shaped peaks rise up out of the otherwise level plain. The city we passed about 1 p.m., merely stopping opposite the steps, leading presumably to the main gate of the city to land the few passengers we had carried for this place.
From this point we pushed on full speed for Tak Hing, a strong current against us--barely making 7 miles an hour-the river winding in and out of the fine mountain spars, every turn displaying some new and pleasing scene. One Temple of the Mother of the Dragon-at Yuet of the chief objects of interest is the celebrated Shing. As we passed this town it was evident that some unusual festivity was going on; guus were being fired, crackers fizzling as at New Year time, and an enormous theatre
the great Joss House. Tak Hing was reached reared its palmleaf roof in close proximity to about 9 p.m. There we anchored for the night. Monday 7th.—Once more up at 4.30 and at 5 a.m. we were under way, steering for Wuchow, now only 42 miles distant. 7 a.m. in Firht of Fa Pew, a cone-shaped rock perched on the top of a lofty peak some 1,500 feet high, Taching, an important looking city on the West bank, was passed about 8 a.m, and from this
489
THE MOUNT AUSTIN HOTEL.
The following petition to His Excellency the Governor with reference to the acquisition of the Mount Austin Hotel by the Military Authorities for the purpose of being used as barracks is in course of signature:- MAY IT PLEAse your ExcELLENCY.
1-We, the undersigned residents in Hong- desire to address your Excellency on the subject of the acquisition of the Mount Austin Hotel by the War Department for the purposes of Barracks. We regard this purchase on the part of the War Department as a serious blow to the welfare of the European civil population residing in the colony and to the best interests of the colony itself and we would respectfully state that in opening up this matter we do so merely with the desire of securing a fuller consideration of the case from all points of view. 2.-We appland and heartily agree with the intention of the War Department to give cool quarters to the troops, but we ask for a further consideration of the site as it appears to us that it is possible to select others more likely to
secure the general comfort of the whole com- munity.
3. The Peak may now be said to be the sum- and American civil community, and it is becom. mer resort of a large proportion of the European
ing more and more the place of residence of such portion of the community throughout the entire year, and it is especially sought after as
a place of residence by those who have wives and families in the colony, the cooler atmos- phere being found to be very beneficial to wo- men and children,
4. Moreover the pressure of the Chinese population in Victoria is such that year by year the European population is being steadily pushed further up on to higher levels. Chinese have
Americans, and it is evident that within a com- already reached the Caine Road, which ten years ago was exclusively inhabited by Europeans and paratively short space of time the Peak will be- come almost the sole place of residence for the European and American population in the Colony.
5. The area available for building sites at the Peak is extremely limited, and if, as has been rumoured, it is the intention of the Mili-
pradore to go up to the town to make arrange point we had a straight run for nearly 30 tary Authorities to buy other sites between the
some
miles, the most noticeable feature being the fine bamboo copses on the South bank, which doubtless form the resting place not only of the tiger but also of the pheasants and partridges which are said to abound in this part of the province.
ments for future passengers, we once more headed up stream, closely followed by the Customs launch, making for our next port of call, Kum Chuk. This place was reached at 4.15 p.m., and there we landed several passengers. Kum Chuk is a poorly built town on the west bank of the creek of the same name, At the some . fine entrance to this creek there are
10 a.m.-Fong Chuen, a walled city on the - rapids rendering navigation dangerous. At the right bank of the river close to the mouth of a
time when we passed the West River was run-
wide creek leading, as our pilot informed us, to ning into this creek at a high rate of speed; the the town of Koyune, a large populous city in the water swirled and gurgled over the rocks in North. On passing this river we entered the Wuchow reach, the latter part, of which fine style. Proceeding at 4.30 we steamed on towards Samshni, distant
30 miles. presents, from a sailor's point of view, the most The distant hills mark the limits of the flat difficult points of navigation on the trip. The delta of West River and we were rapidly channel for about a mile of this reach is simply approaching a country the scenery of which bristling with rocks. Fortunately at present it would be difficult to surpass in almost any the river is high and we were able to keep a portion of the globe. Here a sharp cone-tolerably straight course, the swirl of the water shaped crag jutting out into the river, and on the far side a shapely pagoda raised in distant ages in memory of some Mandarin of “worth ”and "integrity." In the far distance the lofty peak of the celebrated "Digh-o-Shan", rearing its mist-covered heights of some 4,000 or 5,000 feet into the skies, is just fairly visible, and at 6.30 p.m. we came in sight of Campbell Island, a high precipitous rock situated in the middle of the river with a very fine nine storied Pagoda close by on the South bank.
8 p.m.-Anchored just below Ma How Likin Station, it being too dark to proceed farther.
Sunday, 6th, we were called at 4.80 a.m., but there was not sufficient daylight to proceed until 5 fo'clock. Steaming at half speed we reached the month of the North River about 5.30 a.m. and almost at the same time the Hongkong, Canton, and Macao Steamboat Leungshan (Capt. Clarke) hore in sight. Weanchored in Kong Kun reach, about one mile below Ho Haw, the port for Samshui. Samshui city is distant some two miles from the river. It is surrounded by a wall, and appears absolutely wanting in life, being as far as we could see merely a collection of poorly built huts sur
.
and the attendant whirlpools giving ample warning of the presence of these dangers, so that we were able to shift our helm and to pass them by on one side or the other. 11.10a.m. arrived at Wuchow and cast anchor about 30 yards distant from the new hulks which are being built as conveniences for the West River traffic. Wachau seems a thriving city of large popula tions. The business part of the town is well built and the shops are big and well furnished. The people generally are most civil and during our stay in port we were visited by crowds of the well-to-do classes, who through our compradore expressed themselves as well pleased with the accommodation available and doubtless this will prove an attraction as compared with the crowded state of the stern wheel boats and small launches which have hitherto formed the only means of communication between Wuchau and the large districts nearer the sea.
We understand the agents, Messrs. Butter- field & Swire, are arranging to carry a limited number of foreign passengers by this steamer at moderate rates, and no doubt the trip will soon become a favourite one with Hongkong residents.
Mount Austin Hotel and Victoria Peak for
officer's quarters and for other purposes, the re- sidential area of the civil community will be still further diminished.
tion of an hotel situated on one of the finest
6. The loss, therefore, to the civil popula
sites on the Peak and containing over seventy bed-rooms is a most serious curtailment of the residential accommodation on the high levels which is already too limited.
+
7. This deprivation to the community would also be a loss to places such as Singapore, Saigon, Tonquin, Manila, Canton and other of the treaty ports of China, as the Mount Austin Hotel is much used as a health resort by Europeans from those places, who are attracted to this colony by its existence.
8.-The Peak, as it exists at present, is the outcome of many years of enterprise and hard work on the part of the civil population, who have developed it, alone and unsided, at immense trouble and expense for the purpose of enjoy. ing quietly, after the toils of the day are over, private and family life.
9.---It is the only place where such a condition is possible, and we submit with all due respect that no sufficient reason exists for the introduc- tion of barracks into the very midst of what is the most popular residential quarter of the colony.
10. We would also beg leave to point out that, whereas the average stay of a Regiment here is something under three years, the ordinary members of the civil community are frequently obliged to remain from twenty-five to thirty years, and in many cases a lifetime.
11-We specially draw notice to the fact that for some years past no new houses have been allowed to be constructed in the Pok-fu-lum water shed area, and we submit that it is most undesirable that the settlement of 400 men just above the reservoir should be contemplated.
12. Whatever rules and regulations may be laid down, it seems highly probable that a con- siderable amount of insanitary matter will find
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