Directory_and_Chronicle_1930 — Page 981

CHANGSHA

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Pinghsiang collieries (situated just over the Kiangsi border) and the Siang river at Chuchow. Construction on the railway to the south has been in abeyance since 1919, and it is difficult to forecast when there will be a recommencement.

The surrounding country is hilly and picturesque, especially on the west bank of the river, where the Yoluhshan rises some 600 ft. high. This hill, called "Yo Foothills," connected by its name with the great Nan-yo or "Southern Peak," is not actually connected with the Peak in its physical geography, though the Buddhist monastery on its slope is within the Nan-yo diocese. Near the top ridge is a replica of the famous Yü Tablet, which purports to be a monument raised by the Great Yü, in the third millennium B.C., in commemoration of his having redeemned the flooded lands of those days. The original stands on the most southern ridge of the "Southern Peak," which is a range of hills 20 miles long. The original is, however, a shameless fraud which cannot be dated earlier than the twelfth century A.D. The whole story of anyone in those very early days having any knowledge of the country as far south as Hunan is baseless legend and not historically authenticated fact. The hill, however, retains some sanctity from the legend and has a Confucian college at its base, a Buddhist temple in the centre of the slope, and a Taoist shrine on its ridge-hence the name of the "Hill of the Three Religions." The College boasts the possession of some very fine Chou dynasty bronzes and also some autograph writings of the celebrated scholar, Chu Hsi, who was connected with the college in the twelfth century. Near the Buddhist monastery, the trees are exceptionally tall and large. The whole slope here is well- wooded, and in the spring (when the azaleas are in flower) or autumn (when the leaves are of all tints) the scenery is of great beauty. From the balcony of the Taoist temple a commanding view of the southern stretches of the Siang on one side, and on the other a bird's-eye view of the whole city of Changsha and of the intervening island are obtainable.

One of the finest buildings inside the city is a memorial temple to Tseng Kuo fan. In the beautiful gardens of this temple there is now established a High School and College for girls, the Principal of which, Miss Tseng, who holds the London degree of B.Sc., is the great grand-daughter of the distinguished statesman himself. There is a second memorial temple to Tso Tsung-t'ang, one of the most famous lieutenants of Tseng Kuo-fan. There is also a temple on one of the western streets to Chia I, the most celebrated scholar of his day, who died in Changsha, B.C. 165. In the temple is a marble settee which is alleged to have been used by Chia I.

Outside the city there is a very fine hospital, which was erected at a cost of $185,000 by a former Yale graduate for the use of the Hunan-Yale Medical College. The direction of the hospital is in the hands of a board, composed equally of repre- sentatives of the Hunan gentry and the Yale Mission. The Yale School and College buildings are in the immediate neighbourhood. These are all outside the north gate. Outside the south gate are the famed antimony works of the Huachang Company, which has branch offices in the Woolworth Building, New York. There are two electric-lighting companies.

On the island are to be found the British Consulate and the residences of the indoor Customs and Post Office staffs and of the managers of the Standard Oil, Asiatic Petroleum, British-American Tobacco Companies, Butterfield & Swire and many other mercantile firins.

Motors run daily to Siangtan, a large town 30 miles to the south of Changsha The two cities are also connected by telephone. The motor-road is being extended on the south-west towards Paoking, an important city situated almost in the centre of the province and itself the centre of important iron and coal fields. Paoking has water communication with the outside world, but only by means of a river proverbially difficult of navigation because of the innumerable rapids which obstruct its course. This new

extension of the road was commenced with a contribution of gold $200,000 from the American Red Cross, in relief of the grievous famine which befel the province through the drought, which was prolonged throughout the summer of 1921 and caused the death by starvation of thousands of the people of the districts to the west of Paoking.

The volume of trade passing through the Changsha Custom House for the year 1928 was Hk. Tls. 38,695,810, as compared with Hk. Tls. 22,460,892 in 1927, Hk. Tls. 38,001,617 in 1926, Hk. Tls. 32,801,262 in 1925, and Hk. Tls. 37,594,654 in 1924.

The export of coal and coke is becoming an important feature in the trade of the district. The coke, which is said to be of excellent quality, is used almost

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