Directory_and_Chronicle_1912 — Page 961

820

KIAOCHAU

question has been to secure for every settler the lasting possession of his plot, thereby opposing unhealthy land speculation. Tsingtau, on the 2nd September, 1898, was de- clared a free port. The harbour has all the advantages of a Treaty port, and as a free port especially recommended itself as an emporium, since the merchant could there store, free of duty, his wares from abroad or his raw materials brought from the interior of China. The Chinese import duties were at first levied only on goods brought to Tsingtau by sea, when they were transported beyond the borders of the Protectorate into Chinese territory. The Chinese export duties were at first levied only on goods brought from the interior of China, when they were shipped from the German Protectorate to any other place. But in 1906 a new Convention came into force whereby Tsingtan ceased to be a free port, and the Imperial Maritime Customs now collects duties here as at all the other Treaty ports of China. But the Conven- tion stipulates that 20% of the money so collected at Tsingtan shall be paid to the Imperial German Government. The Commissioner of Customs in his report for 1906. comments on the arrangement as follows:-"The principal object of the arrangement, which moreover afforded the opportunity of a political rapprochement and material concessions for mutual benefit on both sides, was the creation and promotion of trade and commerce between the Pachtgebiet and the Chinese hinterland. "The results of the first epoch have conclusively proved the wisdom of this novel arrangement. Under it trade developed beyond expectation and rose from a value of 2 million taels in 1899 to 22 millions in 1905, and Tsingtau, the former dilapidated fishing village, grew into a handsome city with a flourishing mercantile community and a considerable number of manufacturing establishments, giving promise of good profits and further develop- ment. Its success emboldened the merchants, foreign and Chinese, to ask for, and the Government to agree to, going a step further and arrange for the limitation of the free area, which formerly comprised the "whole Pachtgebiet, to the harbour on much the same lines as the German free ports Hamburg and Bremen. The chief advantage of this step lies in the removal of Customs control from the railway stations to the free area, and the consequent freedom of goods and passengers to pass in and out, from and to the hinterland, without hindrance or control of any kind--a traffic simplification from which a considerable increase in trade was expected. This expectation was realised during the first year. The total value of the import and export trade of the year-30.7 million Haikwan taels-showed an increase of 8.2 millions, or 33 per cent., over that of the previous year. Another feature deserving: of record in this connection is the influx of Chinese. The new arrangement, the Com- missioner added, has inspired confidence in the stability and future of the port and is attracting artisans, traders, and wealthy Chinese firms, which last, hitherto dealing. with Chefoo, have until now kept aloof from this place. The gratifying develop ment of trade which set in under the new Customs arrangement in 1906 continued unabated during 1907 and 1908. The total value of trade increased from 30.7 mil- lions Haikwan Taels in 1906 to 39.7 million Haikwan Taels in 1909, and reached a total of Tls. 42,580,624 for the year 1910.

The Bay of Kinochau is an extensive inlet about two miles north-west of Cape Jaeschke. The entrance is not more than 13 miles across, the east side being a low promontory with rocky shores, with the new town of Tsingtau ("green island," from a small grassy island close to the land) about two miles from the point of the peninsula. On the west side of the entrance is another promontory with hills rising to about 600 feet. The shore here is rocky, and dangerous on the west side, but on the east side is a good stretch of sandy beach. The bay is so large that the land at the head can only just be seen from the entrance (about 15 to 20 iniles away), and the water gradually gets shallower as the north side of the bay is approached." The old Chinese Kiaochau city stands at the north-west corner of the bay about 5 miles from the sea and beyond the frontier of the German Protectorate. At Tsingtau there are two anchorages for big ships; the larger and better is round the point of the east promontory, on the north side, and the other, smaller one, on the south side. A new mole was "opened" on March 6th, 1904, which accommodates five vessels with berths. A second mole was opened a few months later, and a third mole for kerosene ships has since been constructed. Both have direct connection with the railway. The hills are nearly bare rock of granite and porphyry, but an extensive scheme of afforestation has been decided upon. The soil of the valleys between the ranges and the plain country on the north-east is alluvial and very fertile, and is carefully cultivated. Wheat, barley, beans millet, maize, and many other grains in smaller quantities are grown. The foreign residential quarter at Tsingtau has been well laid out, and there are some good foreign hotels. The first sod of the