1918

YOCHOW
Yochow, with a population of 15,000 to 20,000, is situated in latitude 29° 23' N., and
longitude 113° 8' E. (Greenwich), at the outlet of the Tungting Lake. Past it ebbs and
flows practically the whole of the trade of Hunan, which, however, adds nothing to
the prosperity of the place, as it simply passes by after having paid its inward and
outward taxes. The city is the gateway of the province and nothing more. Efforts are
being made by British, American and Japanese firms to maintain regular communication
with Changteh, the trade centre, whose opening to foreign trade was talked of in 1906.
The opening of Changsha took away much of Yochow’s transit trade; the Hanko w-Canton
Railway has, however, now so far progressed towards completion that it is hoped to
have trains running between Changsha and WTchang (Hankow) shortly : the line is
within half a mile of the City of Yochow, and the place may, in the near future,
experience better times.
The province of Hunan used to be to foreign commerce what Tibet has been to the
explorer—a Forbidden Land—and it is only a few years ago that foreigners wmre stoned
out of Yochow. In 1904, the people were described as showing a “friendly attitude”
to all foreigners, which attitude is now wTell maintained. The anti-foot-binding
crusade has done well in Hunan, which was once the most anti-foreign province
in all China. They are intensely patriotic, but their patriotism is rather for Hunan
han for the Empire at large.
The province is rich in many forms of wealth, though the inhabitants say it
consists of “ three parts mountain, six water, and one arable soil.” One of the manl
staples is rice, of which nearly a million piculs are sent out of the province to Hupeh
and Kueichow in an average year. The Hunan tea sent to Hankow amounts to
about six hundred thousand half-chests a year. The timber passing down past
Changteh is valued ofiicially at six million taels a .year, and is probably worth more.
It is largely soft wood—merely poles. In'the opinion of old residents the volume
seems to be decreasing, as the rafts are, generally speaking, of smaller dimensions than
in former years. This is only natural when the constant drain and the exis ing
disregard of the rules of forestation in China are considered.
There is also a large production of cotton. The mountain districts contain large
fields of coal, both anthracite and bituminous; iron also is known to exist. Sulphur,
antimony, nickel, and othe-r minerals are even now exported, and great possibilities
of development are undoubtedly to be found. Tungsten ore has lately been added to
the list of exports.
Steam launches and steamers run through from Hankow to Changsha with cargo
and passengers, under River passes; and from Yochow to Inland places under Inland
Steam Navigation Rules—principally to Changteh and Yiyang.
The city of Yochow is perched on a bluff in a very picturesque way. Its site is,
however, not adapted for a transit trade, and it offers no shelter for small craft. The
port has, therefore, been opened at Chengling, five miles to the north and only a mile
from the Yanertsze, where a small creek provides the needed shelter for cargo-boats,
though the steamer anchorage is bad, being fully exposed to the frequent northerly
gales, while the bottom affords bad holding ground. Here the Chinese Governmen t has
set aside a place for a cosmopolitan settlement, for which they themselves provide
roads, police, etc.; the site contains level ground for business purposes, well raised, but
not too high above flood limits, while higher ground gives good and healthy sites for
foreign houses. Work on the formation of the settlement and bunding operations were
commenced in 1900, and a new Custom-house and quarters have been built. Since the
Rebellion in the Yangtsze Valley in 1913 a garrison of northern troops has been stationed
in Yochow. Yochow is described by the Customs Commissioner as “doubtless the
healthiest town in the Yangtsze Valley, considering the insanitary conditions.” In
1900, really the first open year of the port, the net value of the trade w'as Tls. 143,827.
In 1903 it amounted to Tls. 3,473,241, but in 1905 the value was Tls. 490,058 only, and
m 1910 the returns show a net value of Tls. 1,941,809 as compared with Tls. 3,015,913
in 1909. The noticeable decline since 1904 was the result of the opening of Changsha
as a Treaty Port. In the meantime, however, the trade of the province has increased