Directory_and_Chronicle_1914 — Page 1120

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TENGYUEH-SZEMAO

Mekong, which would appear to render any railway project too speculative and too costly to be commercially practicable. Referring to the question of railway construc- tion the Commissioner of Customs in the course of an interesting report for 1906 remarks:- Should the visionary project of connecting Yunnan and Burma with a trunk railway be ever seriously considered, an initial difficulty will be the selection of a suitable route. Two have been suggested—the so-called Bhamo route via Tengyueh ; and the valley of the Salween route via Kunlun Ferry. Opinions are divided as to which is the better, but the latter perhaps allows of easier gradients and is, for various reasons, the more preferable. Both, however, are difficult, and it must be admitted that neither is really suitable for railway construction. Considering the almost insur- mountable physical difficulties presented and the colossal expenditure which would be involved, the practicability, viewed commercially, of such a scheme may well be questioned."

Owing to its elevation (5,400 feet) the climate of Tengyueh is temperate and health- ier than any of the valleys in the vicinity, which are rendered excessively unhealthy by malignant forms of malarial fever. Malaria is, however, very prevalent in the town itself during the rains when mosquitoes are plentiful, and when the general health of the place is bad. The average yearly rainfall is about 65 inches, most of which falls from June to September, when the incessant dampness is trying to the most robust. The value of the trade during 1912, as taken cognizance of by the Maritime Customs, was Hk. Tls. 2,503,915, as compared with Hk. Tls. 1,684,213 in 1911, Hk. Tls. 2,003,286 in 1910, Hk. Tls. 1,563,361 for 1909, Tls. 1,765,868 for 198, and Tls. 1,732,212 for 1907. The principal local industry is the manufacture of jadestone ornaments.

DIRECTORY

CHINESE Customs

Asst.-in-charge J. W. Stephenson-

Jellie

2nd Class Tidewaiter-M. O. Albertsen 3rd

-W. A. Palmer

do.

Consulate and Customs Medical Officer-

A. L. Sircar

CHINESE Post Office

Acting Sub-District Chung Chik Chi

Postmaster

Consulate-GREAT BRITAIN

Acting Consul-C. D. Smith

Clerk-Han Hsiang-ch'ien

SZEMA O

茅恩 Sz-máu

Szemao, opened to the Tonkin frontier trade by the Gérard Convention of 1895 and to British trade by the Burmah Convention of 1896, is situated in the south- western part of the Province of Yunnan in latitude 22 deg. 47 min. 29 sec. N. and longi- tude 100 deg. 46 min. E. It is a sub-prefectural walled town built on gently rising ground overlooking a well-cultivated plain. The elevation is 4,700 feet above the sea level, and the population is estimated to be about 15,000. The climate is delightful, the temperature rarely exceeding 80 degrees (Fahr.) during the summer and seldoni falling below 50 degrees in the winter months. The plague, such a common visitor throughout Yunnan, is almost unknown in Szemao. The place is distant from both Yunnan-fu (the capital of the province) and Mengtsz 18 days, and from the French Loas frontier 6 days, and from British territory about 12 days. It was opened in the early part of 1897, and so far has not fulfilled the expectation of its potential importance as a trading centre. The value of the trade of Szemao in 1912 was Hk. Tls. 456,964,

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