Directory_and_Chronicle_1935 — Page 757

Directories & Chronicles 香港指南 All

SOOCHOW

A371

hills. The construction of the Chung Shan Memorial Hall (1) was consummated in April, 1934, costing $40,000.00 a suin which was totally contributed by the citizens of the local community. It is a magnificent building and situated in the midst of the Yuan Miao K'uan ), the commercial centre of the city. A new Y.M.C.A. building was opened in December, 1921. The Chinese and missionary schools date back to 1900. With a view to promoting local industries, the plan of a bazaar exhibiting domestic products was contempleted and the new building is now under construction in Pei Ch'u ( ), in the city. On New Year's day in 1931, a new city gate named "Chin Mên" (), replacing the Hsin Chang Mêu and a little to the south of it, was opened to traffic. The city of Soochow has thus, in addition to the newly built "Ping Men" (4), eight city-gates, instead of six city gates as it had before. Recent years witnessed the growth of a great many modern banking institutions. Branch offices of Chinese modern banks established in this city and opened to business lately were the Ching Ch'eng Bank(); The Shanghai commercial and Savings Bank (L*#*#7); The Chinese Manufacturers' Bank (中國國貨銀行);The Peasants Bank (農民銀行):The Oriental Bank (大陸銀行); The National Industrial Bank of China (T); The Kiangnan Bank (I); The China South Sea Bank (7); and the Ningpo Bank (甯波銀行)

TRADE IN 1933

The year opened with an unprecedented cold spell which prevailed in January nd the first half month of February with the result that the cocoon crop was a poor one. Its yield was only 50% of a normal year's. Owing to the depression of the silk market, abroad as well as home, a picul of fresh cocoon only fetched from $30.00 to $40.00 according to the quality of the product. The breeders nowadays found that their undertaking had ceased to be a lucrative business as before.

It is interesting to note that Soochow, although situated in the hinterland, assumed, in the year 1933, a new status of carrying on direct foreign trade on an unprecedented large scale as shown by the port's statistics of imports from foreign countries (foreign goods arrived from abroad and transhipped to Soochow). The total value of direct foreign imports was $1,251,844.00 as against H.K. Tls. 34,406.00 in 1932, the increase being chiefly due to the increased importation of foreign sugar and to a certain extent to that of artificial silk yarn. Turning to the domestic trade of this port, tea and cotton yarn promised well with the exception of silk which failed completely on account of the depression in that trade. 6,124 piculs of the former and 31,873 piculs of the latter were exported as against 4029 piculs and 42,000 piculs respectively in the previous year.

The rice crop in the current year was good, but on account of the dumping of foreign rice, the farmers could not obtain in return from their sales what they had spent in raising their crops.

Directory_and_Chronicle_1935 — Page 757

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