Directory_and_Chronicle_1928 — Page 853

Directories & Chronicles 香港指南 All

LUNGCHOW

845

with Tonkin. The continuation of the above-named two rivers is known as the Tso- chiang or left branch of the West River, and it enters the main stream some 30 miles above Nanning. The town is prettily situated amongst the mountains, having exits by the rivers mainly, and lies at an elevation of some 300 feet above sea level. The city wall, last repaired in 1887, is being demolished rapidly to make a circular road round the city proper. The population is estimated at some 20,000 and from a military point of view Lungchow is considered to be a place of importance. Troops are stationed there and at the three frontier stations of Namkuan, Pingerh, and Shuikou, all roughly thirty miles distant in a westerly direction. The port was opened to Franco-Annamese trade on the 1st June, 1889, and has proved a valuable back door into China when strikes obstruct trade elsewhere; 1926 being a record year. Without however an exten- sion of the Hanoi-Langson railway, any marked development of Lungchow is likely to be slow, though the line now runs through to Nasham, where stocks of kerosene were kept on hand during 1924, 1925 and 1926 for importation into China. The frontier road runs from Dongdang on the railway, through Namkuan or the Port de Chine to Lung- chow, and carries at the present date a considerable amount of motor traffic, the distance of 54 kilometres taking on an average about three hours. Two companies are engaged in this cross frontier trade, one of Annamite origin, and the other a Chinese Company. The latter company operates from Langson, while the former runs from Dongdang, a point nearer Lungchow by some 7 kilometres. The intervening country is very beautiful and runs through very mountainous areas, in which are a number of rock caves, formerly the habitat of natives indigenous to the neighbourhood. Telegraphic communication exists with Canton and other places on the West River, with Mêngtsz in Yunnan via Posé, and with places in Tonkin. The Chinese Post Office sends mails almost every day to Langson in Tonkin by Motor under contract, and to Nanning overland every second day 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 Consul at Lungchow and he is also Consul for Nanning. There is a Catholic Church on the South side of the Tso-chiang, and the Emanuel Mission has a small orphanage in the surburbs outside the East Gate. The net value of the trade coming under the cognisance of the Maritime Customs for 1926 was Hk. Tls. 1,198,407, as com- pared with Hk. Tls. 555,804 for 1925, and Hk. Tls. 281,138 for 1924. The trip up from Nanning usually takes from three to four 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 rainy season of July and August. It has been known to rise as high as 75 feet, when the iron suspenion bridge across the river is only two feet about the flood. Motor boats carry most of the cargo from and to West River ports, whilst frontier trade is carried by small junks and rafts, and by carts on the overland routes which usually travel in convoys of some number as in Tonkin. The River scenery between Lungchow and Nanning with its succession of gorges and rapids is well worth seeing but accomodation for Europeans on the motor boats is not of a luxurious type though each vessel has one special cabin for official travellers. The climate of the port is damp and very hot for some eight months of the year, but the winter is cold enough to be very pleasant amid such picturesque surroundings.

Directory_and_Chronicle_1928 — Page 853

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