Directory_and_Chronicle_1934 — Page 932

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LUNGCHOW

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 Port de Chine to Lungchow, and carries at the present date a considerable amount of motor traffic, the distance of 54 kilometres taking on an average of about three hours. There are several motor-car companies-all Chinese owned-engaged in regular traffic- between Lungchow, Shuikon (a frontier mart) as well as Langson in Tonkin. The Lungchow-Nanning motor road has been opened to traffic since March, 1932, with several motor cars engaged in the regular run between the two cities, taking 8 hours to cover the whole journey of about 200 miles. 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 temporarily maintains their mail service between Lungchow and Langson in Tonkin by regular couriers instead of by motor under contract as before owing to the irregular running of trans-frontier motor cars, and sends mails to Nanning daily by a motor driven mail-car run by the Lungchow-Nanning Public Road Control Bureau since December, 1932. An establishment of the Chinese

Chinese Maritime- Customs is maintained at the por where foreign interests are in the charge of Consuls resident

on the

West River and in Hongkong. There was a Catholic Church on the South side of the Tso-chiang, the small orphanage established by the Emanuel Mission in the suburbs outside the East Gate having been removed to Hong Kong since February, 1930. The Consulate, Cus- toms buildings and Missionary Church were completely looted and badly damaged during a Communist uprising in February, 1930. Through the prompt action on the part of the Kwangsi troops under General Wei Yun Tsung to restore peace and order in the district towards the end of 1930, the city of Lungchow, though practically deserted after the communist uprising, has gradually returned to its former prosperity, with a large population and a number of new shops. The trip up from Nanning usually takes from three to four days, and that down to Nanningabout 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 suspension bridge across the river is only two feet above 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 accommo- dation 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 pleasantamid such picturesque surroundings.

TRADE IN 1932

As a result of negotiations between the National Government and the French Minister, the frontier, which had been closed since the Communist uprising in 1930, was reopened by the end of March, 1931, and all restrictions in regard to pas- senger and goods traffic were removed by the Tonkin authorities. In spite of this happy state of affairs, the trade in 1932 exhibited downward tendency. The foreign trade for the most part consists of an interchange of farm produce across the Tonkin frontier. The import section of this trade was hampered by the reduced purchasing power of the Kwangsi people consequent on the communist ravishing of the country in 1930, by the high prices ruling in French Indo- China in terms of gold, and by the high Chinese tariff on imports into Kwangsi; while the export section of the trade was hampered by the high duties levied on the French side of the border, for example, a 210 per cent. duty on samshui and a 32 per cent. on firecrackers, as well as arbitrary rates on medicines, beans and other commodities.. Business in both imports and exports was therefore inclined to be unprofitable and trade was reduced to the minimum requirements of more or less necessary articles, ordinary supplies for Lungchow being obtained much more cheaply from Wuchow and Nanning. The opening of the Lungchow-Nanning motor highway early in the year was a great convenience in many ways, bringing the two places within an eight hours' drive of each other and expediting the mail service with Nanning, Wuchow and other places.