Directory_and_Chronicle_1925 — Page 766

CHEFOO

罘之 Chi-fu 臺烟 Yen-tai

Chefoo, in the Province of Shantung, is the name used by foreigners to denote this Treaty Port; the Chinese name of the place is Yentai, and Chefoo proper is on the opposite side of the harbour. Chefoo is situated in latitude 37° 33′ 20′′ N. and longi- tude 121° 25' 02" E. The port was opened to foreign trade in 1863. In 1876 the Chefoo Convention was concluded at Chefoo by the late Sir Thomas Wade and the former Viceroy of Chilli, Li Hung-chang. The number of foreigners on the books of the various Consulates is about 400, but more than half of them-missionaries -live inland. Chefoo has no Settlement or Concessions, but a recognized Foreign Quarter, which is well kept and has good clean roads, and is well lighted. An International Committee consisting of six foreigners and six Chinese looks after the interests of the Foreign Quarter and derives the revenue at its disposal from voluntary contributions by residents. There is a good club. The races take place towards the end of September. There are two good hotels and several excellent boarding- houses, all of which are full of visitors from July to the end of September. The climate is bracing. The winter, which is severe, lasts from the beginning of December to the end of March; April, May and June are lovely months and not hot; July and August are hot and rainy months; and September, October and November form a most perfect autumn, with warm days, cool winds and cold nights. Strong northerly gales are experienced in the late autumn and through the winter, and the roadstead gives but an uncomfortable, though safe, anchorage for steamers. In 1909 nearly two months were lost to trade through stress of weather. The Netherlands Harbour Works Co. started the construction of a breakwater in 1915. Further harbour improvement works were completed in 1921, the new breakwater, mole and quay being formally inaugurated on September 14th, 1921. The breakwater is 2,600 feet long, the height from the base of the founda- tion mound to the top of the parapet is 513 feet, and the width of the base of the founda- tion mound ranges from 117 feet to 133 feet. A railway track has been laid over the mole. In September, 1921, great damage was done to the Bund along the east beach by a storm of unusual violence accompanied by spring tides.

It was always intended that the Chefoo-Huanghsien-Weihsien railway should proceed pari passu with the breakwater. The outbreak of war, however, brought negotiations to a standstill. Another pressing need in Chefoo is a good water supply. As a measure of famine relief a mud road from Weihaiwai, suitable for motor-trucks except in bad weather, was started in 1920, and efforts are being made to obtain permission for the Chefoo Harbour Improvement Commission to build some 250 miles of roads for the development of the immediate hinterland of Chefoo, on which the port's future is believed mainly to depend. The Governor recommended that the necessary authority be given, and the scheme was approved by Peking, the money to be provided by Chefoo. The difficulty of raising the necessary funds, however, has prevented a start being made. The Chefoo-Weihsien motor road was opened to traffic in 1923 and, although very unsatisfactorily metalled, is nevertheless very popular. So great indeed, is the need at Chefoo for quick communication with the surrounding districts that the number of passengers carried over this new road by the Chefoo- Weihsien Motor Road Co.'s cars is increasing daily.

An enteprrise was established a few years ago by a wine company of sub- stantial standing; the soil of the locality lends itself to such an industry, and the future success of the proprietors of the first Far Eastern wine-growing con- cern is a matter of considerable interest. Chefoo is noted for its large and increasing fruit-growing industry, supplying Shanghai, Vladivostock, Kobe and other Eastern ports with foreign fruits, which grow well with care and attention in that part of Shantung-the native fruit-growers having received foreign instruction-so that which was at first a hobby is now a paying industry. Other very important industries are the manufacture of foreign silk and hand-made silk laces, which in the

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