Directory_and_Chronicle_1920 — Page 901

Directories & Chronicles 香港指南 All

SOOCHOW

州蘇 Sú-chau

Soochow, the capital of the province of Kiangsu, lies about eighty miles west by water and fifty-four by railand a little north of Shanghai, with which it is connected by excellent inland water-ways. The Shanghai-Nanking Railway supplies still better connection. The city is a rectangle, its length from north to south being three and a half miles and its width from east to west two and a half, the total circumference being about 10 miles. It lies not far from the eastern shore of the great Taihu lake. Past its walls runs the southern section of the Grand Canal, which joins Hangchow to Chinkiang; and in every direction spread creeks or canals, affording easy communication with the numerous towns in the surrounding country. It is an important manufacturing centre, with a population of over 400,000. Its two chief manufactures are satins and silk embroideries of various kinds. In addition, it sends out silk goods, linen and cotton fabrics, paper, lacquerware, and articles in iron, ivory, wood, horn, and glass, and rape seed. Since the opening of the port manufactures on foreign principles have been introduced, and there are now three silk filatures and one cotton mill. Before the Taiping rebellion Soochow shared with Hangchow the reputation of being the finest city in China, but it was almost entirely destroyed by the rebels, who captured it on 25th May, 1860. Its recovery by Major (afterwards General) Gordon on 27th Nov., 1863, was the first effective blow to the rebellion. Since that disastrous period it has recovered itself greatly and is once more populous and flourishing, though it has not yet attained to its former pitch of prosperity. It was declared open to foreign trade on the 26th September, 1896, under the provisions of the Japanese Treaty. The Foreign Settlement is under the southern wall of the city, just across the Canal, and is a strip of land about 1 mile long and a quarter of a mile broad. The Government has made a good carriage road along the Canal bank extending the whole length of the settlement, and as far as the railway station, a distance of five and a half miles, on which carriages and ricshas ply, and on fine days the road is crowded with people from the city, amusing themselves, walking and driving. The Chinese and European school was opened in 1900. The gross value of the trade of the port passing through the Maritime Customs in 1918 was Hk. Tls. 18,048,111, as compared with 18,928,741 in 1917, Hk. Tls. 16,771,964 in 1916 and the previous record total of Hk. Tls. 16,311,166 in 1913. But this represents only a small portion of the total trade of the port, a quantity of which does not come under the jurisdiction of the Customs.

Directory_and_Chronicle_1920 — Page 901

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