Directory_and_Chronicle_1922 — Page 973

HANKOW YOCHOW

會年青敎督基口漢

Hankow Chitu-chiao Ch'ing-nien-hur

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF HANKOW-Tel. Ad: Flamingo; Codes: Missions C.I.M., Western Union

Secretaries-A. M. Guttery, T. K. Hu, L. Hall, C. C. Shedd, Roa Chih An, W. E. Frantz, W. P. Mills, W. C.

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Yang, C. C. Kwan, P. Jowe, J.H. Lin,

N. K. Ip and C. L. Wang

會年青敎督基昌武

Wuchang Chitu-chiao Ching-nien-hui

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF WUCHANG-54, Fu Yuen Kai, Wuchang;

Teleph. 262; Tel Ad: Jordan

Secretaries-Waynee Jordan, H. M

Wagner

YOCHOW

Yochow, with a population of 15,000 to 20,000, is situated in latitude 29.° 26.′ 29′′ · N. and longitude 113° 11′ 6′′ E. (Greenwich), at the outlet of the Tungting Lake. Past it ebbs and flows practically the whole of the trade of Hunan, which, however, adds no- thing to the prosperity of the place, as it simply passes by after having paid its inward and outward taxes. The city is the gateway of the province and nothing more. British, American, Japanese and Chinese firms maintain regular communication with Changteh, Yiyang and Chinshih, the trade centre of western Hunan. The opening of Changsha took away much of Yochow's transit trade; the Hankow-Canton Railway has, however, so far progressed towards completion that trains are now running between Changsha and Wuchang (Hankow): the line is quite close to the City of Yochow, and the place may, in the near future, experience better times if the hope of permanent peace can only be realised.

The province of Hunan used to be to foreign commerce what Tibet has been to the explorer-a Forbidden Land-and it is only a few years ago that foreigners were stoned out of Yochow. In 1904, the people were described as showing a "friendly attitude" to all foreigners, which attitude is now well maintained. The anti-foot-binding crusade has done well in Hunan, which was once the most anti-foreign province in all China. The people are intensely patriotic, but their patriotism is rather for Hunan than for the Republic at large.

The province is rich in many forms of wealth, though the inhabitants say it consists of "three parts mountain, six water, and one arable soil." One of the main staples is rice, of which nearly a million piculs are sent out of the province to Hupeh and Kueichow in an average year. The Hunan tea sent to Hankow amounts to about six hundred thousand half-chests a year. The timber passing down from Changteh is valued officially at six inillion taels a year, and is probably worth more. It is largely soft wood-merely poles. In the opinion of old residents the volume seems to be decreasing, as the rafts are, generally speaking, of smaller dimensions than in former years. This is only natural when the constant drain and the existing disregard of the rules of afforestation in China are considered.

There is also a large production of cotton. The mountain districts contain extensive fields of coal, both anthracite and bituminous; iron, also, is known to exist. Sulphur, antimony, nickel, and other minerals are even now exported, and great possibilties of development are undoubtedly to be found. Tungsten ore was lately added to the list of exports, but it is now largely shipped from Changsha rather than from Yochow. Steam launches and steamers run through from Hankow to Changsha with cargo and passengers, under River passes; and from Yochow to Inland places under Inland Steam Navigation Rules-principally to Changteh, Yiyang and Chinshih. The business is increasing, more particularly with the last-named place. The Canton-Hankow Railway has endeavoured to maintain regular daily train service, but the conduct of the military has been a great hindrance.

The city of Yochow is perched on a bluff in a very picturesque way. Its site is, however, not adapted for a transit trade, and it offers no shelter for small craft. The