1918

PEI-TAI-HO AND CHINaWANGTAO-NEWCHWANG
665
tides, but steamers drawing 23 feet 6 inches can as a general rule discharge with perfect
safety. The bottom being soft mud, there is really nothing to prevent vessels with a
draft of 25 feet from discharging, provided they are prepared to take the mud at low
water. The Administration has already commenced a dredging scheme which, when
completed, will give a depth of water of 25 feet at low tides. The Administration has
at present three steam cranes available for weights up to five tons each, and, generally
speaking, it may be said that the loading and discharging facilities are excellent. .On
one occasion 73,000 bags of flour were taken out of one steamer in 27 consecutive hours,
whilst on another 4,000 tons of coal were loaded on to one steamer in 31 consecutive
hours. These facilities, resulting from the liberal expenditure of capital, have caused
Chinwangtao to become a formidable rival for the trade hitherto shipped via Taku to
Tientsin. The port is accessible throughout the year. It is practically the only port
in the Gulfs of Pechili and Liau Tung accessible during the winter, which, on an
average, extends from December 10th to March 10th. Good, sheltered anchorage, also,
is to be found in the Roads. So important has the port trade become that it has been
found necessary to abandon the Administration’s branch railway connecting with the
Peking-Mukden Railway at Tongho Junction. On and from 1st August, 1916, the
Peking-Mukden Railways made direct connection with the Port by means of a deviation
of the main trunk line between Peking and Mukden. The Administration own the
land in the vicinity of the port, and that portion of the property known as the
Bluff, comprising the best residential and building sites, has now been laid out as a
township, in which plots may be leased on moderate terms.
Asa seaside health resort Chinwangtao is almost without rival in China. It is
easily accessible, has a dry and bracing climate, offers safe bathing from a sandy beach,
and is situated amidst magnificent scenery; while a hotel under experienced manage¬
ment and numerous Summer bungalows afford the visitor every comfort. The great
increase of trade year by year has induced the Chinese Maritime Customs to erect a
fine Customs house at Chinwangtao, with a deputy commissioner in charge, and to
open a Hai Kwan Bank for the convenience of local consignees. The total value of
the trade for 1916, was Hk. Tls. 9,429,763 as compared with Hk. Tls. 10,609,942 in 1915
and Hk. Tls. 12,447,765 in 1914. The total number of steamers entered and cleared during
1916 was 1024 as compared with 890 in 1915 and 1,008 in 1914. Chingwangtao was
selected on account of its natural geographical advantages as one of the ports of em¬
barkation for coolies emigrating to South Africa, and during 1904 an extensive depot
was established for the accommodation of five or six thousand men.
DIRECTORY
Butterfield & Swire (John Swire &
Sons, Ld.)—Tel. Ad : Swire
(Agent in residence during the Winter
season only); Address: Tientsin
Agencies
China Navigation Co., Ld.
Ocean Steamship Co., Ld.
China Mutual S. N. Co., Ld.
I! 'M 0, EE M Hai-Hwan
•Chinese Maritime Customs
Commissioner—F. W. Maze (stationed
at Tientsin)
Actg. Commr. —E. Le Bas
Chinese Assistant—Lo Ch'i-ming
Act.Asst.Tidesurveyor—W. McF. Robb
Assistant Examiner—A. W. Oliver
Tidewaiters—S. Sturton, S. Underhill,
A. E. Cooper
Chinese Post Office
Ho Hung-Chiin, officer in-charge
Forbes & Co., William—Tel. Ad: Rinchee,
Chinwangtao
Kailan Mining Administration — Tel.
Ad: Maishan
R. A. McConaghy, agent and engineer
J. W. Nolan, shipping clerk and acct.
W. Roberts, harbour master
J. Phillips, traffic inspector
Dr. D. D. Muir, medical officer
J. Rickerby, weighbridge office
P. Lemoing, assistant harbour master
Rest House Hotel—Tel. Ad: Rest House