Directory_and_Chronicle_1929 — Page 1011

SZEMAO

茅思 Sz-mâu

Szemao, opened to the Tonkin frontier trade by the Gérard Convention of 1895 and to British trade by the Burmah Convention of 1896, is situated in the south- western part of the Province of Yunnan in latitude 22 deg. 47 min. 29 sec. N. and longi- tude 100 deg. 46 min. E. It is a sub-prefectural walled town built on gently rising ground overlooking a well-cultivated plain. The elevation is 4,700 feet above the sea- level, and the population is estimated to be about 10,000. The climate is delightful, the temperature rarely exceeding 80 degrees (Fahr.) during the summer and seldom falling below 50 degrees in the winter months. The plague, such a common visitor throughout Yunnan, is almost unknown in Szemao. The place is distant from both Yunnan-fu (the capital of the province) and Mengtsz 18 days, from the French Laos frontier 6 days, and from British territory about 12 days. It was opened in the early part of 1897, and so far has not fulfilled the expectation of its potential importance as a trading centre. The value of the trans-frontier trade of Szemao in 1927 was Hk. Tls. 403,233, as compared with Hk. Tls. 350,184 in 1926, Hk. Tls. 260,255 in 1925, Hk. Tls. 194,198 in 1924, and Hk. Tls. 226,922 in 1923. The smallness of the trade statistics has been attributed partly to the fact that, owing to the various routes in the neighbourhood of the port, effective supervision is difficult of attainment, and partly to the decline of the cotton trade-the staple import article at this port-experienced during the past decade. It must be remembered, also, that the above figures only represent the value of that portion of the Szemao trade coming under the cognizance of the Szemao Customs, that as to say, goods which are imported or exported across the frontiers of Burmah and Tonkin and which alone are classed as "foreign trade" of this port.

In the country to the south of Szemao, known as the Chinese Shan States, large quantities of tea are produced, and only a small portion is exported abroad direct from Szemao across the Tonkin frontier. The rest, estimated at about 30,000 piculs per annum, is sent to different parts of China, and this "inland trade" is not con- trolled by the Szemao Customs. No foreign traders reside at Szemao, the trade being entirely in the hands of local merchants, who have no agencies in either Tonkin or Burmah. A telegraph line from Túng Hai, via Yuan Chiang and Pu Erh-fu, connects Szemao with the existing Chinese overland telegraphs. Considerable ethnological in- terest centres in the neighbourhood of Szemao. Writing on this subject in the course of his Trade Report for 1905 the Commissioner of Customs remarked: "It is of much interest to notice the various aboriginal races in this part of Yunnan, living side by side with, and yet differentiated from, the Chinese, and possessing distinct customs, character- istics, and traditions of their own. In the surrounding mountains we find the Lolo and Lohei, and in the low-lying plains the Shans, known to the Chinese as Pa-i; interspersed with these is the vassal tribe of the Akas. In the vicinity of the Chinese towns little settlements of the Mahe and Putu, who are offshoots of the Woni, are to be met with. From Talang north to Yuan-chiang and eastwards south of the Red River as far as Man- hao, is the home of the Woni race, who are a swarthy people sub-divided into several tribes. Near Talang live a few Min-chia people who have migrated from Ta-li and Yuan-chiang, the headquarters of this large branch of the Shan race. At Shih-p'ing and Yuan-chiang there are several tribes of Pa-i, or Shans proper, and some Yao, also, are to be found in the mountains to the east of Szemao---a remarkable race which is to be met with in scattered hamlets in mountainous districts as far eastwards as Kwangsi. The Kawas inhabit the prefecture of Chên-pien-t'ing, to the westward of Szemao, and concerning their mode of life but little yet is known. The relentless march of civilisa- tion, however beneficial to the world at large, is bearing hardly on the aboriginal races of mankind; and the south-western portion of this ancient province of Yunnan provides one of the few remaining territories where they are still permitted a local habitation and a name." There is a large and interesting field for mission work, the soil being still practically virgin. It is noticeable that the various tribes inhabiting this corner of China are slowly undergoing a process of social and economic