7
MENGTSZ AND YUNNANFU
A-483
product of Yunnan worthy of international notice at present and constitutes, as seen above, the most important article of export from the province. The tin-fields are located around the small city of Kochiu (M), some 61 kilo- metres to the west of Mengtsz. According to the survey of geologists, the deposits are said to be rich and abundant. If the mines were mechanically worked and the ores properly treated, the annual output would, it is estimated, be in the neighbourhood of 30,000 tons. The rise in production during the year was chiefly due to the adequate rainfall and to the favourable market price for tin abroad. Communist threats in the spring foiled the hopes of recruiting more miners from the interior and restricted output to a certain extent, other- wise the output for 1935 would have been greater. Coal comes next in importance to tin. Wolfram ore abounds in the districts west of Huang Mao Shan() tin-fields near Kochiu. Trial exportations will be made during 1936. Iron is also said to be abundant, while copper is known to exist in the north-eastern part of the province. The economic condition of the province is still more or less primitive, and industrialisation may be said to have barely started. Of industries under Government control may be men- tioned the model factory for the production of ironware and modern wood furniture; while five other factories for spinning, weaving, power-generating, tools, and cement-manufacturing are either under construction or under con- sideration. An elaborate scheme of afforestation drawn up in 1934 is being enforced. During the year under review the financial position of the province suffered two serious blows--the communist disturbance in the early part of the year and the opium suppression measure taking effect from the 1st July. In spite of these facts, Government finance remained sound, as new sources of revenue and reduction of expenditure proved effective in offsetting the loss of As a reduction in the planting of opium means a serious loss, to the provincial treasury, various other taxes were imposed, and active steps are being taken to provide farmers with crops to take the place of the poppy, such as cotton, maize, and wheat, while the planting of the cinchona and the wood- oil tree is also being encouraged. The suppression of opium-planting was enforced in 38 hsien of the province during the year, while the regulations restricting opium-smoking were put into force on the 1st January 1956. The district suffered, like most others, from the exchange fluctuations of the Hongkong and standard dollars, but the local Yunnan dollar remained more or less steady in relation to the latter currency. Imports from Indo-China were handicapped by the high exchange value of the piastre. The Yunna- Toukin (M) Railway, which holds the pre-eminent place in the communi- cations of the province, suffered no interruption during
no interruption during the year. The construction, of roads is making considerable progress. Despite the mountain- ous nature of the province, more than 1,314 kilometres of road have been completed and opened to traffic. The year 1935 saw the commencement of an air-mail service from Yunnanfu via Kweiyang to Chungking.
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