NAVIGATION ON THE YANGTSE
121
A mere recital of the dates on which the different ports and sections of the Yangtse were opened to foreign trade gives little idea of the difficulties encountered in establishing regular steamer services on the river. Some of these difficulties were political, some economic, and some technical. Physical factors inclined to divide the river into three sections - Lower, Middle, and Upper. The Lower River was the 600 miles from the mouth to Hankow, navigable for ships of up to 10,000 tons in the high water season, and for ships of about half that size all year round. The Middle River was the 340 miles from Hankow to Ichang, and this was navigable for 3,000 ton ships in the high water season, and for slightly smaller ships all year round. The third section was the Upper River, the 400 miles from Ichang to Chungking, which included the famous Yangtse Gorges. At Chungking the bed of the river is 600 feet above sea level, as compared with 130 feet at Ichang, and it is this fall of 470 feet in 400 miles, 1.17 feet per mile, which is the cause of the strong currents and rapids in this section of the river. Only small, very powerful, and specially designed ships could navigate the Upper River. There are some seventy gorges and rapids on the Upper Yangtse, and at some places the river is only 150 yards wide. It is probably the most dangerous stretch of water in the world, and the Chinese estimated that one in ten of junks going through were seriously damaged, and one in twenty lost, while a thousand lives were lost each year. Judging by the many accidents and near accidents, and the callous disregard of life shown by junk men, this is probably an under-estimate. There is some justification, therefore, for an old Chinese saying that "it is more difficult to ascend to Szechuen than to heaven".
During the high water season ships of up to 1,400 tons could navigate the Upper Yangtse between Ichang and Chungking, but in the low water season ships of less than half that size could do so. Companies operating on the Upper Yangtse, therefore, had two types of ship, one for the high water and one for the low water season.
There was a bewildering variety of native craft operating on the different sections of the Yangtse, ranging from the large ocean-going junks which sailed on the Lower River and to coast ports, to the smallest junks on the highest reaches of the river above
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Page 136
NAVIGATION ON THE YANGTSE
121
A mere recital of the dates on which the different ports and sections of the Yangtse were opened to foreign trade gives little idea of the difficulties encountered in establishing regular steamer services on the river. Some of these difficulties were political, some economic, and some technical. Physical factors inclined to divide the river into three sections - Lower, Middle, and Upper. The Lower River was the 600 miles from the mouth to Hankow, navigable for ships of up to 10,000 tons in the high water season, and for ships of about half that size all year round. The Middle River was the 340 miles from Hankow to Ichang, and this was navigable for 3,000 ton ships in the high water season, and for slightly smaller ships all year round. The third section was the Upper River, the 400 miles from Ichang to Chungking, which included the famous Yangtse Gorges. At Chungking the bed of the river is 600 feet above sea level, as compared with 130 feet at Ichang, and it is this fall of 470 feet in 400 miles, 1.17 feet per mile, which is the cause of the strong currents and rapids in this section of the river. Only small, very powerful, and specially designed ships could navigate the Upper River. There are some seventy gorges and rapids on the Upper Yangtse, and at some places the river is only 150 yards wide. It is probably the most dangerous stretch of water in the world, and the Chinese estimated that one in ten of junks going through were seriously damaged, and one in twenty lost, while a thousand lives were lost each year. Judging by the many accidents and near accidents, and the callous disregard of life shown by junk men, this is probably an under- estimate. There is some justification, therefore, for an old Chinese saying that "it is more difficult to ascend to Szechuen than to heaven".
During the high water season ships of up to 1,400 tons could navigate the Upper Yangtse between Ichang and Chungking, but in the low water season ships of less than half that size could do so. Companies operating on the Upper Yangtse, therefore, had two types of ship, one for the high water and one for the low water season.
There was a bewildering variety of native craft operating on the different sections of the Yangtse, ranging from the large ocean going junks which sailed on the Lower River and to coast ports, to the smallest junks on the highest reaches of the river above
Page 135Page 136
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