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I went to Shanghae and saw the Coast Inspector, Captain Tyler, and procured from him a rough chart of the place and other information regarding it
On the 13th August I proceeded to Hulutao, which is situated some 25 or 30 li by cart road south of Lienshan Station, on the Imperial Chinese Railway. It is a promontory running out into the sea, in a direction, roughly speaking, at right angles to the coast-line from east to west, its western extremity joining the mainland, and its It is covered with eastern end projecting nearly 6 further out into the sea. numerous rounded hills, the highest being 400 feet in height. On the northern side the water is very shallow, and on the south it is deep, with a uniform mud bottom.
I made a close examination and survey of the bay, checking the soundings which had been made previously, noting the tides, &c., so as to be able to judge of its suitability. I remained there for nine days, and during that time there was high wind and a rough sea from the south and south-west which interrupted our operations, but gave good illustration of the place under unfavourable conditions in summer. This experience was valuable as showing the direction it would be necessary to give to a break-water in order to give complete shelter in summer,
I made many inquiries of the people living there and others acquainted with the place in winter in order to get what information I could regarding the extent to which it may be considered ice free. They all agree that, although extremely cold, the ice does not form over all the bay on the south side till late in the season, and then for about ten days only. Also, that even then there is always open water with drift ice beyond the promontory, and this open water appears to he about 4 li wide, and to extend all along the coast to the south-west from one projecting part of the Some of my coast-line to another, which should make navigation practicable. informants were of the opinion that access to the bay might sometimes be difficult, if not impossible, for about a month in the season, but they were not all agreed that it would be for so long a time. They maintain that the ice when it does form will not bear a man's weight, so that it is unsafe to walk upon. The tidal current seems to run very strong in that place, and there is a rise of tide of 10 feet which may account for the ice being broken up, or not getting time enough to form properly,
From Hulutao I proceeded down the coast first of all to Hunter's Point or Wang Hai Szu which seemed also a likely place, but on examination proved to be unsuitable on account of rock and stones on the north-east side and shallow on the south-west, which is said to be constantly frozen.
I went to Ning Yuen Chou and inspected the coast in that vicinity, more especially a place called Wa Sze Tao or Tung Yao Chan, which is only about 18 hi from the railway line. Here we took sounding out to a distance of 2,000 feet from the shore in an east and west direction and also from north to south, but found the water too shallow, and from its position the place seems liable to be frozen up in winter except where fully exposed to the winds beyond the coast-line and outside the shelter of the bills. That this is the case is also confirmed by statements of villagers living there.
I then went to Chu IIua Tao, on the south-east coast of which is a place which might have served excellently well if our object had been the selection of a small naval port instead of a commercial one. The island is 3 miles long from north-east to south-west; it has numerous hills, some of which are about 800 feet high, and is situated about 6 miles from the mainland, the intervening water being extremely shallow. It seemed that it might be practicable to make a road from the mainland to the island, but it is subject to very rough seas sometimes at high water, which would make such a road a very expensive undertaking in itself. On the island, which is very fertile, are some excellent quarries of granite, where stone has been procured for bridges on the Imperial railways. The water is 40 to 50 feet deep in a sheltered bay on the south-west corner where the tidal current keeps it free of ice, but its distance from the mainland makes it impracticable as a commercial port. But this fact and the ease with which it could be fortified, its great depth of water, sheltered situation and other advantages make it worthy of note as a possible naval port for the north. It is situated about 40 miles north of Chin Wang Tao and 20 miles south of Hulutao. If not entirely ice free it would have advantages over such a place as the Russian Vladivostock.
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After leaving Chu Hua Tao I went to Shan Hai Kuan, but apart from the disadvantage of its nearness to Chinwangtao I found no suitable place in that locality. It has shallow water and little shelter, so that its bays are constantly frozen out to the coast-line, and it has very little rise of tide to break up the ice.
I finally went to Tien Chiao Chang to judge of the conditions at Chinchow Bay, but found it an impracticable place as a winter port, and only useful for junks in the open season. The water is so shallow that the largest junks have to anchor at a distance of 20 l from the shore: any attempt, therefore, to improve the place by dredging or otherwise would involve prohibitive expenditure. The water is frozen there to the bottom in winter, and Kaochiao is even in a worse condition.
The result of my examination of the coast has been, therefore, to show decisively that Hulutao is the most suitable, if not the only fit place for a port between Newchwang and Shanhaikuan, and it is fortunately an exceedingly good one, both from its natural conditions and its situation as regards the trade of a large part of Manchuria.
Considering it first as a winter port, there is not sufficiently accurate knowledge of the winter condition of the Gulf of Liaotung to enable one to judge with any certainty of the period during which it is open to navigation.
We know that the Lino River is frozen up from about the 24th November to the middle of March, but the fresh water of the river freezes at a temperature much higher than sea water, and before it reaches Newchwang the waters of the Liao have been cooled to the freezing point by passing through an immense distance of frozen country.
From the thermometer records kept at the Harbour-master's office at Neweiwang it appears that through the night the temperatures are below the freezing point of sea water for two months, from about the end of December till the middle of January, yet the day temperatures are generally so very much higher as to make it probable that the warmth of the days counteracts in a great measure the effect of the cold nights.
Considering also that the currents and high rise of tide will in themselves break up the ice formed at night time, and that Halutao from the configuration of the hills behind it is fully exposed to the off-shore winds from the north-west, which are frequent at that season, it is easily seen how the ice may be blown to sea and out of the bay, once its connection with the shore is broken. There is no record of ships encountering ice in the gulf when coming to Newchwang after the river is open to navigation.
I am inclined to think, therefore, that the difficulties regarding the ice will not be found so serious as is generally supposed, and that it is highly probable that Hulutao will only be closed to navigation during the coldest months in the year, say, from the middle of January till the middle of February. This can only be satisfactorily proved by making the practical demonstration by means of a well-found steamer, which should be chartered to proceed to Hulutao, say, four times in the winter, the middle of the months of December, January, February, and March. A competent person should be stationed there, also throughout the coming winter, to keep record of the winds and temperatures and of the tides, and the state of the ice in the bay. By this means, most valuable information will be obtained as to the conditions of the place in view of its suitability for a winter port.
I think from a long experience gained at Chinwang tao. that we should be quite safe in considering the advantages of Huintao, on the assumption of its being closed to navigation for about a month.
As a port for Manchuria in the open season the advantages of its site are incontestable.
Comparing it with other trade routes, it is 60 miles nearer to Mukden than Dalny, and it would have also this advantage-being the gateway port of Manchuria, it would be purely under Chinese control instead of under the Japanese, as is the case of Dalny.
It is 100 miles nearer Mukden than Chinwangtao.
Its distance from Hsinmintun is 50 miles.
It is in a district within reach of some of the best coal mines in North China, which are worked at present at Pei-piao and Yichow, but only need to be developed by modern methods and joined by railway in order to secure the coal market of Shanghae, the quality being far superior to anything offered there at present. This alone would make a very important trade for the port.
These advantages in themselves would secure the success of the port and bring traffic to the Imperial railways and Hulutao, which now goes to Dalny and the South Manchurian Railway.
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