Directory_and_Chronicle_1908 — Page 966

NANKING—WUHU

817

POST OFFICE-Imperial Chinese

District Postal Officer-H. E, K, Borck

do.

Assistant

POST OFFICE--JAPANESE

-D. D. Ritchie

李美 Mee.fu **

Standard OIL Co. of New York; Tel. Ad..

Socony

J. F. Newman, manager

Postmaster-S. Inaba

Postal Clerk-M. Ota

WUHU

湖蕪 Wú-hú

CC

This port (the name of which signifies grass and lakes," i.e. swamps) was. opened to foreign trade, by the Chefoo Convention, on the 1st April, 1877. It is situated on the river Yangtsze, in the province of An-hwei, and is a "half-way' port between Chinkiang and Kewkiang, though nearer to the former. It has the appearance of a thriving and busy town, and is admirably located for trade. This is mainly owing to the excellence of its water communication with the interior. A large canal, with a depth of five to six feet of water in the winter and ten to twelve feet in the summer, connects the port with the important city of Ning-kuoh-fu, in southern An-hwei,. fifty miles distant. Another canal runs inland for over eight miles in a south-westerly direction to Taiping-hsien, an extensive tea district. This canal, which is only navigable in the summer, passes through Nan-ling and King-hsien, where the cultivation of silk is carried on, and may some day be of importance. The silk districts of Nan-ling and King-hsien are situated within fifty miles of Wuhu. Besides the canals leading to Ning-kuoh-fu and Taiping-hsien, there are two others communicating with Su-an and Tung-pó.

It will be seen from the above enumeration of the facilities for water carriage from Wuhu, that it is calculated to prove an emporium for commerce. The value of the trade of the port for the year 1906, Hk. Tls. 21,998,201, was lower than it has been for many years. It compares with Tls. 30,623,809 in 1905, Tls. 23,223,383, in 1904, and Tls. 24,542,783 in 1903. Shortage of crops in 1906, and various other causes, rendered the export trade stagnant, and the falling off is entirely in the export returns. Coal may some day become a considerable article of export from Wuhu, ɓoth Native and Foreign capital having been directed to the great coal fields of the province. The China . Merchants' Steam Navigation Company are interested in several coal districts and have expended large sums in the opening of their mining property; the output has thus far been small, owing to the lack of proper machinery and management. The Chin Kang Company, a wealthy native syndicate, have a government permit to open mines in several districts and have been prospecting with a view to developing their property in the near future. A number of smaller companies are operating at present with the sanction of the above Corporation, to whom they pay a royalty. Two Companies representing foreign capital-the Yangtsze Land and Investment Company, Limited, and the I Li Coal and Mining Company, Limited-have purchased a number · of the most valuable mining properties in the immediate neighbourhood of Wuhu.

There is a large trade in timber in Wuhu, but that, like all other trade, is in the hands of the Chinese. There is a steam flour mill, and a soap factory. The soap does not sell well. The preservation of egg yolk and albumen is an industry which was started in 1897, and has been carried on with several changes of proprietorship. A brick and tile manufactory is being erected.

The town is fairly well built, with rather broader streets than most Chinese cities possess, and is tolerably paved. The tract of land selected 30 years ago for the foreign settlement was definitely ceded in 1906, and sites were allotted to the Anhwei Railway Company and to various shipping companies, each lot having a river frontage of 600 to 1,100 feet, leaving 1,260 feet of the settlement with river frontage still unallotted. Bunding operations have progressed satisfactorily, and the place has taken on a decided air of prosperity. A railway is being made to Kwangtehchow. The population of Wuhu is estimated at 80,750.

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