Directory_and_Chronicle_1929 — Page 995

Directories & Chronicles 香港指南 All

WUCHOW

913

this, the principal steamship offices, the Custom House and likin stations, together with numerous restaurants, are located on pais (houses built on pontoons), moored alongside the river bank. In July, 1924, Wuchow was visited by a very high flood- 73 feet 9 inches-which is the second highest on record. In winter the only local industry worthy of mention is boat building; when the river falls the foreshore is lined. with matsheds, where native craft of all descriptions are constructed. The situation of Wuchow makes it the natural distributing centre for the trade between Kweichow, Eastern Yunnan, Kwangsi, and Hongkong and Canton. The future is full of promise, and Wuchow is sure to make a bold bid for second place as the largest trade mart in the south of China. Local merchants are making strenuous efforts to divert to Wucliow, vid the Liuchow and West Rivers, the trade of south-eastern Kweichow, which is principally supplied via the Yangtsze. Attempts are being made to work the manganese, antimony, copper, and tin mines which abound in the Kwangsi Province. The gross value of the trade coming under the cognisance of the Maritime Customs had steadily grown to Tls. 23,237,078 in 1920, but subsequently, owing to frequent military operations and the disturbed state of the country, the trade diminished to Tls. 11,952,197 in 1922, this being the smallest figure on record since 1908. The value of trade recovered to Hk. Tls. 17,485,294 in 1923 and Hk. Tls. 21,030,247 in 1924, but owing to the boycott of Hongkong, in 1925 it fell again to Hk. Tls. 13,604,856. The boycott ended in October, 1926, and the trade for that year recovered to Hk. Tls. 17,291,745. In 1927 the figures further increased to Hk. Tls. 23,004,288. The principal articles of export are manganese ore, antimony, timber oils (aniseed, cassia, groundnut, and wood), tea, indigo, hides, live stock and firewood. The coal, which should form one of Wuchow's largest exports, still lies buried in the surrounding hills. There is daily steam communication with Canton and Hong- kong, maintained by Portuguese, British and Chinese steamers, some of which are manned by foreign officers, and have first-class passenger accommodation. During the last few years a large native passenger trade has sprung up between Wuchow and up- river towns, and a fleet of motor boats make regular trips to Kongliau, Kuaiping, Kuei- hsien and Nanning. Wuchow itself offers few attractions to the tourist, but the river scenery on the way up, especially between the Shiuhing and Takhing Gorges, where the stream winds in and out among the green hills to form a succession of apparent lakes, is picturesque and has been compared to the Rhine. Wuchow is connected by telegrapli Iwith Hongkong, Shanghai, etc.; and the Chinese Post has establislied postal communi- cation with the principal towns in Kwangsi. In 1922 the Maritime Customs completed the erection of seven new buildings to accommodate the whole of their staff. These houses, some of which are three storeys high, are constructed of ferro-concrete in the most up-to-date style. They are brilliant examples of modern tropical buildings, and are the chief architectural feature of Wuchow.

The year 1924 saw much systematic effort toward municipal improvement. local Board of Public Works was inaugurated early in the year, with a competent engineering and surveying staff. Much creditable work was accomplished in spite of set-backs by flood and fire and the hampering effects of political and financial limitations. Streets were widened, sewers laid, and ponds and marshy places re- claimed and filled and made suitable for building sites. The near-by hills and valleys, long used inerely as burial grounds, are now becoming the scene of road-making, tree-planting, and house-building. The old city wall has been entirely demolished and ambitious plans for the near future include the extension of wharf facilities, the pre- paration of new business districts, and the construction of a reservoir and filtering plant for a modern water supply.

An important innovation, since the early part of 1926, has been the institution of telephones throughout the city. These are run by a private company.

Directory_and_Chronicle_1929 — Page 995

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