SHASI
市沙 Sha si
Shasi (the "market on the sands") is one of the ports opened to foreign trade under the Japanese Treaty of 1895, the official declaration of the opening being dated the 1st October, 1896. The port is about 85 miles below Ichang and is situated at the crossing point of two most important routes of commerce in Central China, namely, from east to west and from north to south and vice versa. It is reclaimed from the river and the sea by a magnificent system of dykes and canals, and is "a monu- ment of ancient commerce, and a witness to native perseverance and engineering skill." The district suffers periodically from the flooding of the Yangtsze. In July, 1908, the river rose to 30 ft. 9 inches, and caused the destruction of all the earlier summer crops; in 1917 it rose to the record height of 31 ft. 9 ins., and again, on July 21st, 1919, it rose to 31 ft. 6 ins. The general commerce of the port has increased yearly since the Revolution despite the adverse influence of the civil war during the past two or three years. The population, which is steadily increasing, is estimated at about 80,000, and the floating population, of which no account is kept, may be estimated at 10,000 more.
A con- siderable amount of washing for gold is done between Shasi and Hosueh, chiefly on the Tukkechow. Formerly Shasi was an important distributing centre, but the opening of Ichang to foreign trade diverted much of the traffic to the last-named port. It was hoped that when Shasi itself was opened it would regain its importance as a point of distribution, but the experience now gained shows that the development is likely to be slow. On the 9th and 10th May, 1898, a serious anti-foreign riot occurred at Shasi. The Customs Office and the residence of the Cominissioner, the Customs oats, the premises of the China Merchants' Company and their hulk, the office of the Foreign Board, the Japanese Consulate, the premises occupied by the native agents of Messrs. Butterfield & Swire and Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co., and a number of newly-erected Chinese houses were burnt by the mobs, kerosene oil being used to feed the conflagration, and the foreign residents were driven out of the port, narrowly escaping with their lives. The Custom-house was re-opened on the 1st July of the same year. In August, 1898, an area 3,800 Chinese feet in length, by 800 to 1,200 in breadth, lying along the river side below the town, was assigned to Japan as a Japanese Concession. The foreign commerce is mostly in Japanese hands. The British Consulate was withdrawn in January, 1899, British interests being placed under the care of the Consul at Ichang. Calling steamers anchor qin the river, which is very swift during the summer, and discharge and load at pontoons, but some bunding work, commenced in December, 1904, and finished in April, 1905, provided berths for three hulks, with jetties. Unfortunately, in 1908, this bund ofor over two-thirds of its length went bodily into the river owing to the action of the water coming from inland carrying away sand from beneath the stone work. The net value of the trade of the port coming under the cognizance of the Foreign Customs was Hk. Tls. 7,573,548 in 1919, as compared with Hk. Tls. 6,362,492 in 1918, Hk. Tls. 4,422,849 in 1917 and Hk, Tls. 4,354,425 in 1916. The bulk of the carrying trade is, how- ever, carried on by junks, which do not come under the control of the Foreign Customs. In December, 1913, a contract was entered into between the Chinese Government and the British firm of Pauling & Co. for the construction of a railway from a point opposite Shasi to Singyifu in the province of Kweichow via Changteh and Kweiyang, with a branch from Changteh to Changsha. Good progress was made in the survey of this projected railway until the outbreak of the European war and consequent necessity for a temporary cessation of operations led to the recall of the engineers. It is reported 4that so many lakes and morasses lie in the direct survey of the Shasi-Changteh section
that a détour to the west, through more productive country, may be necessary.
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