Directory_and_Chronicle_1938 — Page 784

A382

CHANGSHA

to Kweiyang. The Changsha-Szechwan road, branches off from the Changsha- Kweichow road at Shenchow (Yuanling), whence it runs via Luhsi, Ch'ien- ch'eng, Yungsui and Ch'at'ung, to Hsiushan- a distance of 220 kilometres. The road-bed has been laid as far as Ch'at'ung: It is hoped that the surfacing with stone and gravel will be completed and the road be opened to through traffic by November this year. The Changsha-Changteh-Lichow-Tungyomiae has been extended and opened to traffic as far as Shasi on the Yangtze. The Changsha-Hankow road, via P'ingkiang, T'ungch'eng and Tsungyang is complete, except for a distance of 25 kilometres between P'ingkiang and T'ungeh'eng. Progress is being made with this section, however, and through traffic between Changsha and Hankow is now under discussion. The Changsha- Kwangsi road, via Siangtan, Hengehow, Hungch'iac, Ch'iyang and Yungehow (Lingling, to Lishamp'n on the Kwangsi border, has been completed and opened to traffic. From the border it is necessary to travel by chair for half: a day to Hwangshaho, whence the road has been completed as far as Kweilin. The Changsha-Kwantung road, via Siangtan, Hengchow and Leiyang, to Pingshek was completed and opened to traffic two years ago,

TRADE IN 1936

The chief encouragements to trade at Changsha, in what must be considered a most prosperous year ou the whole, were: favourable weather for agricultural products in general; excellent rice crops and fair prices therefor; a good demand and considerably better prices for minerals (which share with rice in being the miaustay of the export trade); stabilisation of the foreign exchange market as a result of the Government's new monetary policy instituted in November 1935; improvements in land communications; the work done towards the rehabilitation of such areas in the province as had been flood and/or com- munist-bandit stricken in recent years; and the generally peaceful state of the tountry side throughout the year, despite the alarums raised at one time by the temporary invasion of the province by Kwangtung and Kwangsi troops. The chief hindrances to trade, on the other hand, were: some initial sceptism, successfully combated by the Provincial Authorities with the help of the local banking institutions, regarding the outcome of the Government's new currency and nationalisation of silver measures enforced in November 1935, which led to very cautious trading during the first half of the year; the unrest caused by the invasion of the province on the south by Kwangtung and Kwangsi troops in June; and the long and extra troublesome low water season, which restricted ́ trade considerably during the last three months of the year, impeded the movement of cargoes, caused unusual difficulties to shipping companies, and resulted in correspondingly heavy increases in freight rates. In support of the above statement that 1936 "raust be considered a most prosperous year on the whole" the evidence of the following Customs trade statistics may be given: value of the direct imports from abroad, $5.7 million as against $3.9 million in 1935; value of the coastwise importations of Chinese produce, $26.5 million as against $22.1 million; value of the direct exportations of Chinese produce to foreign countries (postal parcels only), $2,000 as against nil; and value of the coastwise exportations (including re-exportations) of Chinese produce, $27.6 million as against $17.9 million. The substantial increase in trade shown by these figures is adduced only as evidence of the upward trend in trade during the year: the figures can by no means be taken as representing the whole value of the trade of the port, seeing that they take no account of the coastwise importations of foreign goods uuder Customs control of which statistics are no longer recorded nor of junk-borne and rail-borne freight not under Customs control. Additional evidence of an unusually good volume of trade was supplied by the demand for freight space, which led to several extra vessels