Directory_and_Chronicle_1921 — Page 1033

LUNGCHOW

州龍

Lung-chow

This city is situated at the junction of the Sung-chi and Kao-ping rivers in lat. 22 deg. 21 min. N., and long. 106 deg. 45 min. E., near the South-western border of the province of Kwangsi, and was selected as the seat of the frontier trade of that province with Tonkin. The continuation of the above-named two rivers is known as Tso-chiang, or left branch of the West River, and it enters the main stream sonie 30 miles above Nanning. The town is prettily situated in an amphitheatre amongst the mountains, having exits only by the rivers, and lies at an elevation of some 300 feet above sca level. It has a new wall which was completed in 1887. The population is estimated at some 13,000, and from a military point of view Lungchow is considered to be a place of importance. Troops are stationed there and near the Frontier. The port was opened to Franco-Annamese trade on the 1st June, 1889, but so far the little trade may be said to have been but insignificant. It is likely to continue so until the Haiphong- Hanoi-Langson railway, which after twelve years' assiduous labour was completed early in 1902, is extended to Lungchow, or until another contemplated extension of the line enables merchandise to be rail-borne to within easier access of water communication with Kwangsi. For the present both extensions are abandoned, and the line from Hanoi ends abruptly in the hills a few hundred yards from the "Porte de Chine" (Namkuan) on the Tonkin-Kwangsi frontier, from which spot Lungchow is distant some 60 kilometres by road, part of which runs over rough and mountainous country and which is practically impassable in bad weather. The journey from the Frontier over this road takes two days by chair, or a day and a half on horseback. Native pony-carts may at times be had, but this method of locomotion is not one to be recom- mended except under the best of weather conditions and furthermore is only available for some two-thirds of the journey. Telegraphic communication exists with Canton and other places on the West River, with Mengtsz in Yunnan, via Po-sé, and with places in Tonkin. The Chinese Post Office sends daily couriers to Langson in Tonkin and couriers every second day to Nanning overland, with connections to Canton and Pakhoi. An establishment of the Chinese Maritime Customs is maintained at the port, where foreign interests are in the charge of Consuls resident on the West River and in Hongkong. France alone maintains a Vice-Consul in Lungchow, who is also Consul for Nanning. The net value of the trade coining under the cognisance of the Maritime Customs for 1919 was Tls. 82,619, as compared with Tls. 99,601 for the year previous. During 1919, 360 motor-boats visited the port. The trip up from Nanning usually takes from two to three days, and that down to Nanning about 30 hours according to the water in the river, the level of which is liable to very sudden fluctuations during the prevalence of rainy weather. The climate of the port is damp and very hot for some eight months or more in the year, the hottest period being usually from April to July, Motor boats carry most of the incoming cargo from and við the West River ports, whilst imports from over the frontier come by junk or raft. The river scenery between Nanning and Lungchow with its succession of gorges is well worth seeing, but at present accommodation for Europeans on board the distinctly Chinese-style motor-boats is non-existent.

The chief characteristic of Lungchow is its inaccessibility, both by the existing very poor roads from the frontier and by the Tsokiang during the low-water season. Unless good stone roads are laid out and the channels of the Tsokiang improved, it is hopeless to look forward to any trade and, even, to expect any to visit a place which is really well worthy of consideration from a commercial point of view.