Directory_and_Chronicle_1919 — Page 681

KIAOCHAU

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German Protectorate to any other place. But in 1906 a new Convention came into force whereby Tsingtao ceased to be a free port, and the Imperial Maritime Customs began to collect duties there as at all the other Treaty ports of China. But the Conven- tion stipulated that 20% of the money so collected at Tsingtao should be paid to the Imperial German Government. The Commissioner of Customs in his report for 1906 commented 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 Tsingtao, 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 arranging for the limitation of the fres 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.' The new arrangement inspired confidence in the stability and future of the port and attracted artisans, traders, and wealthy Chinese firms, which last, hitherto dealing with Chefoo, had until now kept aloof from the place. The total value of trade increased from 30.7 millions Haikwan Taels in 1906 to 39.7 millions Haik wan Taels in 1909, and reached a total of Hk. Tls. 56,330,321 for the year 1912, or an increase of 20% over the previous year, notwithstanding the disadvantageous conditions for trade caused by the revolutionary troubles in China.

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The Bay of Kiaochau is an extensive inlet two miles north-west of Cape Jaeschke The entrance is not more than 13 miles across, the cast side being a low promontory with rocky shores, with the new town of Tsingtao ("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 Tsingtao there are two anchorages for big ships; the larger and better one 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 for kerosene ships was subsequently constructed. Both have direct connection with the railway. About 20 ships can be berthed simultaneously in the harbour.

The hills, in former days merely bare rocks of granite and porphyry, are now clad in fresh green owing to an extensive scheme of afforestation, which was decided upon in the early days of the colony. 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 Tsingtao has been well laid out, and there are some good foreign hotels. The first sod of the Shantung Railway was cut by Prince Henry of Prussia in October, 1899, and the line to Tsinanfu was opened on the 1st June, 1904. It has done a prosperous business from the day it was opened. In 1912 the goods traffic over the line amounted to 852,001 tons; 1,230,043 passengers were carried in 1912, which meant an increase in passenger traffic of 36% over the previous year's figures. The coal mines have shown good progress. The output of the Shangtung Mining Company at Fangtse and Tsetchuan (Hungshan) in 1912 was 573,676 tons. Hungshan coal enjoys an ever-increasing demand for bunker coal.

Before the war, a brewery, soap factory, and two albumen factories were in full work, as well as a Government slaughter-house and ice plant. A large hat factory, fitted with the most up-to date appliances was also in full operation. There is a big export of cattle to Vladivostock. Fruit grafting is becoming a promising enterprise. The develop-