Directory_and_Chronicle_1935 — Page 802

ICHANG

2

宜

I-Chang

Ichang is one of the four ports opened to foreign trade on the 1st April, 1877, in accordance with Clause 1, Section 3, of the Chefoo Convention. It is situated in lat. 30°. 43.4' N., long. 111° 12.8′ E., on the north bank of the river Yangtze, about 363 miles above Hankow, and some five miles below the entrance to the great Ichang Gorge, or just about 1,000 miles from the coast. The navigation of the river to this port is comparatively easy for vessels of light draught and has in recent years been rendered easier by the labours. of the Customs River Department, which has marked every crossing and established numerous aids to navigation. The anchorage is off the left bank, opposite the foreign residences, and is good, except in freshets, when the an- chors should be sighted every two or three days. The port is the centre of a hilly country, the productions of which are rice in the valleys, cotton on the higher grounds, winter wheat, barley, and also the tungtzu trees, from which the ordinary wood oil is obtained by pressing the nuts gathered from the trees. In the sheltered valleys, amongst the mountain ranges west of the city, oranges, lemous, pomeloes, pears, plums, and a very superior quality of per- simmons are grown, and find a ready market in the city and at Shasi. The inportance of Ichang is chiefly that of an emporium for goods in transit to and from Chungking. Most of the cargo for the latter port is landed here and transfered to steamers. Steam navigation is now practicable for the lar- ger vessels from the middle of April to the end of November and for the smaller vessels throughout the year. The rates for foreign passengers are much higher than on the lower Yangtsze. In view of the enhanced traffic, aids to navigation and rules of the road through the gorges have become urgent, and have been for some years undertaken by the Government, with three River Inspectors functioning between Chungking and Ichang. The up- ward voyage to Chungking_now takes between three and four days, and the return trip just under two days. The survey of the railway to Chengtu has been completed, but construction has been postponed indefinitely. The estimated Chinese population of Ichang is 112,309.

TRADE IN 1933

Except for a short time in January during the evacuation of the Szechwanese troops, effective control was inaintained at Ichang by its garrison forces. Only along the western border of Hupeh were conditions disturbed. This was due to communist- bandit activities on that part of the Szechwan-Hupeh frontier, and certain districts for which Ichang serves as entrepot were effected. However, the port is not so much a trading as a transhipping centre, and it is in the latter connection that Ichang lost importance during the year, this being due to the fuller advantage now being taken of the recently completed arrangements allowing of through traffic between down- river ports and Chungking without landing and reshipping cargoes at Ichang. This has been the subject of long and bitter controversy between the shipping companies and the Ichang labour unions, but the latter were at last obliged to give way to modernity in the matter of improved communications. For many years now this useless handling of cargo, or, in lieu of the actual handling, the payment of fees amounting to the full coolie lire that would be charged in ordinary course for unloading and reloading every package on ships' manifests, had to be submitted to before vessels were allowed to proceed. The increase in through traffic naturally has affected the livelihood of the numerous wharf labourers and, to some extent, the prosperity of the port. Entrances and clearances number 2,386 vessels, aggregating one million tons-a slight increase over the previous year's figures. Only one Japanese vessel traded on the Ichang-Hankow run and none on the Ichang-Chungking