Inclosure 3 in No. 1.
Report by Consul-General Wilkinson respecting the Progress of the French Railway to Yunnan-fu. (Confidential.)
THE various routes that have from time to time been suggested or adopted for the French railway from Laokai to Yünnan-fu are marked on the accompanying map (compiled by "le soldat Schneider," and published at Hanoi last November) by means of double lines. These routes are three-
1. That proposed by the Mission d'Études in about 1898;
2. The modifications subsequently introduced into this route by the engineers of the Travaux Publics of Tonquin;
3. The "trace" of Herr von Kapp, adopted last year.
The first two ran up the valley of the Red River to Sinkai, thence along its tributary, the Sin-hsien Ho, and over a pass to the Mongtse Plain, whence the former followed the main road through Sinfang, Kuan-yi, Tunghai, Kiangchuan, and Tein-ning to Chiengkung and Yunnan-fu. The latter also kept this road as far as Kuanyi and a few miles further north; then it diverged to the west, so as to pass through Hsin-hsing Chou to K'unyang, on the southern extremity of the Tien-ch'ih, or Lake of Yünnan; it ultimately rejoined the main road at Tsin-ning.
The third route, which is the route that has now been finally adopted, is, it will be seen, entirely distinct from its predecessors. It leaves the Red River at Laokai itself, and runs up the valley of the Nam-hti (Nan-chi) to its head-waters in the hills, some 8 miles east of Mengtse. It is thence carried along, or through, those hills until it strikes, near A-mi Chou, the Lin-an River, an affluent of the Pei-ta Ho, which last is, in effect, the "West River" of Wuchow and Canton. A few miles further north the Pei-ta Ho itself is met, and up the gorges and valleys of this river the line runs until, a little beyond I-liang, it quits the river for its tributary, the torrent that drains the Yang-tsung Lake. It sweeps upward to the crest of the hills west of this lake, and having now attained—in fact, somewhat exceeded—the level of its terminus, finds little difficulty in crossing the remaining low passes into the Yunnan Plain.
Private Schneider's map may be checked by the photographs of the track-chart prepared by the Société de construction. Of these a copy, courteously supplied by M. Guibert, Directeur des Travaux, is attached, together with similar photographs of—
1. The profile of the line;
2. A chart showing the position of the various concessions, or foreign establishments along it;
3. A map of Yunnan city and its environs.
From the profile it appears that the line leaves Laokai, the first station, at an elevation of 100 metres (328 feet) above sea-level; that in the first 74 kilom. (46 miles) it ascends gradually to 300 metres; and that during the next 80 kilom. it rises rapidly, at Milati attaining the height of 1,708 metres (3,535 feet); that it then falls to A-mi Chou, 1,056 metres (3,463 feet), whence the ascent is practically continuous to Shui-ya Tan, the highest point on the line, 2,020 metres (6,624 feet), 436 kilom. (271 miles) from Laokai. The elevation of Yunnan-fu, or rather of the station there, is given as 1,889 metres, or 6,196 feet.
The total length of the line, as now settled, is 464 kilom., or 290.88 miles (corrected from 4684 kilom.). This is divided into twenty-nine lots, or rather into thirty-two, as three of the lots are subdivided. These lots have been secured by fourteen contractors ("entrepreneurs") of whom the first and the last are French citizens, the rest being Italians. Their names, and the apportionment between them of the lots, are shown on the profile. It will be observed that two contractors have each taken up six lots; one contractor, four lots; five contractors, two lots apiece; and the remaining six contractors, one lot each.
The line is also shown to be divided into ten sections. Three of these contain four lots; six, three lots; and one, the ninth, two lots. Each section has its "chef" or head, and there is a "sous-chef" or assistant head, for each lot. Above the "chefs des sections" are two "chefs de division," M. Dufour, who has his head-quarters at Mengtse, and M. Prud'homme, Chief of the second division, who is stationed at I-liang. Above these, again, is the director ("Directeur des Travaux"), who, with his staff, is quartered at Mengtse. The "directeur" was, till a few days ago, M. Guibert, but he has now left on a six months' "congé," and is being replaced by Herr von Kapp, the confidential adviser of Count Vitali, President of the Société de Construction des Chemins de Fer.
The Association has a French register, and its "Conseil" meets in Paris. As is well known, it has constructed railways in, among other countries, Italy, Macedonia, and Asia Minor, and a great number of its employés in Yunnan are men who have for years been engaged in its service. Their doyen is, I believe, M. de Violini, Chief of the eighth section.
I understand that the Chemin de Fer de Yünnan is the only considerable enterprise in which the Association is at the present time engaged; but of this I cannot speak positively. (The Society is said to be interested in the German Bagdad Railway.) For its work in Yunnan it is to be paid partly in cash and partly in shares of the concessionary Company, La Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de l'Indo-Chine et du Yünnan.
The interests of this Company are watched over from time to time by agents sent out for the purpose. The last of these, M. Getten, visited Yunnan-fu in April, returning along the line to Tonquin. He has since left for Paris.
By the Agreement between the Company and the Government of Indo-China, the latter is required to construct the line from Haiphong, on the coast, through Tonquin to Laokai, the frontier town, and to complete this line by the 1st April, 1905. The line (to which I shall refer later) is now in running order as far as Yenbay. Meanwhile, the Public Works Department (the Travaux Publics) of Tonquin also stations a Delegate in Yünnan to safeguard the interests of the Government of Indo-China, since this Government is, as I understand, eventually to receive one-half of the profits of the Haiphong-Yunnan-fu Railway. The Present Delegate, M. Richard, resides at Mengtse, but visits Yunnan-fu four or five times in the year.
Before dismissing the profile, attention may be drawn to the fact therein shown that there are to be eight stations, of varying classes, thus—
Kilometre Station Class 70 Laokai 1st La-hu-ti 3rd 155 Ma-la-ti 3rd 164 Mengtse 3rd 228 A-mi Chou 2nd 298 Po-si 3rd 398 I-liang 3rd 468 Yunnan-sen 1stand twenty-five sidings or stoppages ("haltes"). A-mi is, it may be noticed, almost midway between Laokai and Yunnan-fu.
From the chart of "Yünnan-sen" it will be seen that this city, the capital of the Province of Yunnan, has six gates, and that while all of these, with the exception of the north gate, are surrounded by suburbs, the most thickly-peopled portions outside the wall lie to the south and east.
Previous to the Mahommedan rebellion (1857-73) almost the whole ground south of the city as far as the two pagodas (the "vieille tour" and "tour neuve" of the chart) was covered with houses, as was also the land for some third of a mile beyond the east wall.
The trend of the country is from the hills on the north and north-east down towards the great lake, south-west and south, with the result that the whole district south and west of the city is better suited for paddy fields than for building sites. Such is the case also with the lands between the old eastern faubourg and the hills 2 miles away to the east. The problem, then, that confronted the engineers of the Railway Company was to find an adequate space of sufficiently elevated ground on which to erect their station. The chart shows how it was first attempted to solve this problem. The original "tracé" ran alongside the "route de Mengtse," and it was proposed to place an extensive yard in the angle formed between that route and the main road to Kueiyang.
From this yard the line was to be continued to a still larger but less symmetrical enclosure to be formed outside the walls between the
Page 15
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Inclosure 3 in No. 1.
Report by Consul-General Wilkinson respecting the Progress of the French Railway to Yunnan-fu. (Confidential.)
THE various routes that have from time to time been suggested or adopted for the French railway from Laokai to Yünnan-fu are marked on the accompanying map (compiled by "le soldat Schneider," and published at Hanoi last November) by means of double lines. These routes are three-
1. That proposed by the Mission d'Études in about 1898;
2. The modifications subsequently introduced into this route by the engineers of
the Travaux Publics of Tonquin ;
3. The "trace" of Herr von Kapp, adopted last year.
The first two ran up the valley of the Red River to Sinkai, thence along its tribu- tary, the Sin-hsien Ho, and over a pass to the Mongtse Plain, whence the former followed the main road through Sinfang, Kuan-yi, Tunghai, Kiangchuan, and Tein- ning to Chiengkung and Yunnan-fu. The latter also kept this road as far as Kuanyi and a few miles further north; then it diverged to the west, so as to pass through Hsin-bsing Chou to K'unyang, on the southern extremity of the Tien-ch'ih, or Lake of Yünnan; it ultimately rejoined the main road at Tsin-ning.
The third route, which is the route that has now been finally adopted, is, it will be seen, entirely distinct from its predecessors. It leaves the Red River at Laokai itself, and runs up the valley of the Nam-hti (Nan-chi) to its head-waters in the bills, some 8 miles east of Mengtse. It is thence carried along, or through, those hills until it strikes, near A-mi Chou, the Lin-an River, an affluent of the Pei-ta Ho, which last is, in effect, the "West River" of Wuchow and Canton. A few miles further north the Pei-ta Ho itself is met, and up the gorges and valleys of this river the line runs until, a little beyond I-liang, it quits the river for its tributary, the torrent that drains the Yang-tsung Lake. It sweeps upward to the crest of the hills west of this lake, and having now attained-indeed, some- what exceeded--the level of its terminus, finds little difficulty in crossing the remaining low passes into the Yunnan Plain.
Private Schneider's map may be checked by the photographs of the track-chart prepared by the Société de construction. Of these a copy, courteously supplied by M. Guibert, Directeur des Travaux, is attached, together with similar photographs of--
1. The profile of the line;
2. A chart showing the position of the various concessions, or foreign establish- ments along it;
3. A map of Yunnan city and its environs.
From the profile it appears that the line leaves Laokai, the first station, at an elevation of 100 metres (328 feet) above sea-level; that in the first 74 kilom. (46 miles) it ascends gradually to 300 metres; and that during the next 80 kilom. it rises rapidly, at Milati attaining the height of 1,708 metres (3,535 feet); that it then falls to to A-mi Chou, 1,056 metres (3,463 feet), whence the ascent is practically continuous to Shui-ya Tan, the highest point on the line, 2,020 metres (6,624 feet), 436 kilom. (271 miles) from Laokai. The elevation of Yunnan-fu, or rather of the station there, is given as 1,889 metres, or fi,196 feet.
The total length of the line, as now settled, is 4684 kilom., or 290-88 miles. This is divided into twenty-nine lots, or rather into thirty-two, as three of the lots are subdivided. These lots have been secured by fourteen contractors ("entrepreneurs") of whom the first and the last are French citizens, the rest being Italians, Their names, and the apportionment between them of the lots, are shown on the profile. It will be observed that two contractors have each taken up six lots; one contractor, four lots; five contractors, two lots apiece; and the remaining six contractors, one lot each.
The line is also shown to be divided into ten sections. Three of these contain four lots; six, three lots; and one, the ninth, two lots. Each section has its "chef" or head, and there is a "sous-chef" or assistant head, for each lot. Above the "chefs des sections" are two chefs de division," M. Dufour, who has his head-quarters at
3
Mengtse, and M. Prud'homme, Chief of the second division, who is stationed at I-liang. Above these, again, is the director ("Directeur des Travaux "), who, with his staff, is quartered at Mengtse. The "directeur was, till a few days ago, M. Guibert, but he has now left ou a six months' "congé," and is being replaced by Herr von Kapp, the confidential adviser of Count Vitali, President of the Société de Construction des Chemins de Fer.
The Association has a French register, and its "Conseil" meets in Paris. As is well known, it has constructed railways in, among other countries, Italy, Macedonia, and Asia Minor, and a great number of its employés in Yunnan are men who have for years been engaged in its service. Their doyen is, I believe, M. de Violini, Chief of the eighth section.
I understand that the Chemin de Fer de Yünnan is the only considerable enterprise in which the Association is at the present time engaged; but of this I cannot speak positively. (The Society is said to be interested in the German Bagdad Railway For its work in Yunnan it is to be paid partly in cash and partly in shares of the concessionary Company, La Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de l'Indo- Chine et du Yünnan.
The interests of this Company are watched over from time to time by agents sent out for the purpose. The last of these, M. Getten, visited Yunnan-fu in April, returning along the line to Tonquin. He has since left for Paris.
By the Agreement between the Company and the Government of Indo-China, the latter is required to construct the line from, Haiphong, on the coast, through Ton- quin to Lackai, the frontier town, and to complete this line by the 1st April, 1905. The line (to which I shall refer later) is now in running order as far as Yenbay. Meanwhile, the Public Works Department (the Travaux Publics) of Tonquin also station a Delegate in Yünnan to safeguard the interests of the Government of Indo- China, since tlús Government is, as I understand, eventually to receive one-half of the profits of the Haiphong-Yunnan-fu Railway. The Present Delegate, M. Richard, resides at Mengtse, but visits Yunnan-fu four or five times in the year.
Before dismissing the profile, attention may be drawn to the fact therein shown that there are to be eight stations, of varying classes, thus-
Kilometre.
Station.
Clasa.
70
Laokai La-hu-ti..
1st.
3rd.
155
Ma-la-ti..
3rd.
164
Mengtse.
3rd.
228
A-wi Chou
Zud.
298
Po-si
3rd.
398
468
I-liang Yunnan-sen
3rd.
1st.
and twenty-five sidings or stoppages ("haltes"). A-mi is, it may be notice, almost midway between Laokai and Yunnan-fu.
From the chart of " Yünnan-sen" it will be seen that this city, the capital of the Province of Yunnan, has six gates, and that while all of these, with the exception of the north gate, are surrounded by suburbs, the most thickly-peopled portions outside the wall lie to the south and east.
15
Previous to the Mahommedan rebellion (1857-73) almost the whole ground south of the city as far as the two pagodas (the "vieille tour and tour neuve" of the chart) was covered with houses, as was also the land for some third of a mile beyond the east wall.
The trend of the country is from the hills on the north and north-east down towards the great lake, south-west and south, with the result that the whole district south and west of the city is better suited for paddy fields than for building sites. Such is the case also with the lands between the old eastern faubourg and the hills 2 miles away to the east. The problem, then, that confronted the engineers of the Railway Company was to find an adequate space of sufficiently elevated ground on which to erect their station. The chart shows how it was first attempted to solve this problem. The original "tracé" ran alongside the "route de Mengtse," and it was proposed to place an extensive yard in the angle formed between that route and the main road to Kueiyang.
From this yard the line was to be continued to a still larger but less symmetrical inclosure to be formed outside the walls between the
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