Directory_and_Chronicle_1920 — Page 993

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SAMSHUI

z = Sàm-shu

The Treaty port of Samshui, opened in 1897 under the Burmah Convention-nearly forty years after Consul Harry Parkes' East River Expedition-is situated near the junction of the West and North Rivers, in lat. 23 deg. 6 min. 30 sec. N., and long. 112 deg. 53 min. and 48 sec. E. The anchorage known as Hokow, at which foreigners reside, was formerly an ordinary Chinese fishing village, with boat-building as its leading industry, and a flooded state in summer as its characteristic peculiarity, but it is fast becoming a busy mart. According to the Convention, the town of Samshui and Kongkên (a dirty little village situated among the hills opposite Hokow) together constitute the port area. The formal opening took place on 4th June, 1897, since which date the trade of the port has increased steadily if allowance be made for the practical cessation of the import of opium and for special causes, e.g., the effect of the European war and the high floods of 1914 and 1915. The net value of the trade coming under the cognisance of the Customs during 1918 was Hk. Tls. 4,672,224. The junk traffic is large, and the lekin station is said to be one of the most important in the province. The district city of Samshui itself is surrounded by an imposing wall built in the 6th year of Chia Ching of the Mings (about A.D. 1560), the year after the place attained to the dignity of a magistrate's cure, but whatever prosperity it may once have attained has departed, and within the walls, where dwell the magistrate and the commander of the few local troops, the space is but half occupied by poor dwelling-houses and one small street containing provision shops. Outside the North Gate stands an imposing temple, temp Chia Ching (circa 1800). Between the town and the river is a fine nine- storied pagoda, rebuilt during the Chia Ching reign, some 100 years ago.

The business focus of the district is Sainam, a large well-built town of no great antiquity, three miles distant, on the creek leading to Fatshan, where is established an electric plant which supplies Sainam and Samshui with light.

The

Two sets of steamship lines converge here, from Canton and Hongkong, respec- tively, and tourists in China can do many worse things than visit the West River, which presents more beautiful scenery than is to be found on any steamer route in China the Yangtze gorges, perhaps, excepted. The number of vessels entered and cleared at the Custom House during 1918 totalled 5,568, aggregating 1,424,112 tons, as compared with 5,146, aggregating 1,660,016 tons, in 1917. Since 1st May, 1905, Samshui has been made a port of entry for foreign steamers going up the West River. Numerous steam launches carrying passengers or towing passenger boats ply between Samshui and neighbouring cities on the West and North Rivers and on the creek leading to Fatshan and Canton. A railway line from Canton to Samshui via Fatshan was inaugurated on the 26th September, 1904, and five trains run daily each way between Canton and Samshui. The passengers carried during 1918 numbered 3,848,720. climate of the port is as healthy as any in the delta. In the summer, frequent squalls cool the air, and it is seldom that there is not a breeze of some kind; in winter, the air is keen, bracing and clear. The waterways and surrounding country are pictur- esque, and the adjacent heights offer pleasant walks. Excursions of one or two days enable one to climb Mt. Mc. Cleverty, (2,000 ft.) at the mouth of the West River; or Ting Hu Shan (4,000 ft:), behind the celebrated temple known to foreigners as "Howlik," near which is to be found the popular bathing pool and fall; or the hills forming the first gorge, from which used to be quarried the famous ink-stone known throughout China as Tuan Yen. Perhaps the most interesting of the sights in the neighbourhood are the Seven Star Hills, which are situated close to the pleasant town of Shiu Hing, some 30 miles from the port. These hills, formed of pure white marble rising to a height of about 400 feet from the plain, hold many temples-some apparently clinging to the sides of the cliffs and caves and grottoes. The fine bronze figures of more than life-size in one of these temples are well worthy of attention. Fair snipe shooting is to be obtained in the winter, and an occasional pheasant, partridge, quail or duck may be added to the bag. The attractions of good sport and pleasing surround- ings have made Samshui a week-end resort for some of the Canton community confined to the small and uninteresting island of Shameen