Directory_and_Chronicle_1926 — Page 935

Directories & Chronicles 香港指南 All

FOOCHOW

879

that can be brought into the port in coastwise steamers. An incidental benefit will be the reclamation of great tracts of sandbanks and their ultimate recovery for cultivation. The limits of the port of Foochow extend from the City Bridge to the Kimpai Pass. The Mamoi Arsenal, near Pagoda Anchorage, is an extensive Govern- olment establishment, where several good-sized gunboats have been built, but it now stands practically idle. The Arsenal was bombarded by the French on one 23rd-24th August, 1884, and reduced to partial ruin, but was restored. The establishment was later reorganised, and was for some years administered by French experts. There sa is a dock in connection with the Arsenal on Losing Island. The dock is over 300 ft. long and has very powerful pumps and a good steel caisson. The Fukien Christian University, the latest addition to the educational establishments of the port, moved into its new quarters, just below Kushan Point, at the end of 1921. The site com- prises some 50 acres of hill and plain. The object of the University is to provide cheaper education for Chinese on Western lines and in more congenial surround- ings than are to be had abroad. In June, 1900, the port was visited by the most disastrous floods known there in living memory; the river, rising through heavy rains, overflowed and deluged the country, sweeping away villages and causing immense havoc and loss of life. The population of Foochow is estimated at 650,000.

The net value of the trade of the port coming under the cognisance of the Foreign Customs in 1924 was Hk. Tls. 35,907,840, as compared with Hk. Tls. 38,250,901 in 1923, Hk. Tls. 30,107,988 in 1922, and Hk. Tls. 33,020,688 in 1921.

KULIANG

A refuge from the heat of summer at Foochow can be gained by a four hours' chair ride to the top of Kuliang, i.e., “Drum Pass," which is a mountain resort situated about nine miles east of Foochow. The thermometer indicates an average of 10 degrees cooler on the mountain than it is in Foochow ; the nights are always cool and blankets a necessity for comfort. Dr. Rennie was the first to build a house of foreign design at Kuliang in 1886. Now there are upwards of one-hundred such houses, and every summer between four and five-hundred persons, chiefly missionaries, are in residence on the mountain. According to the Admiralty Chart, Kuliang reaches a height of 2,900 feet. Nearly five miles of stone-paved roads about three feet in width have been made under the supervision of a Public Improvement Committee, appointed by the residents, the necessary funds being provided by voluntary contribution. The greatest charm of Kuliang is the mountain walks, and there are many interesting places within easy walking distance. A Chinese Post Office and a Telegraph Office are opened at Kuliang every year from the middle of June to the middle of September, and daily mail connection with Foochow is maintained. There are many private tennis courts and seven public courts on the mountain, also a swimming pool, as well as mountain streams where swimming can be enjoyed. Sharp Peak, also, affords a seaside and bathing resort which is much appreciated by Foochow residents. The American missions and the Anglican Mission each have sanatoria there. It is also the place of landing of the E. E., A. & C. Telegraph Co.'s cables.

Directory_and_Chronicle_1926 — Page 935

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