1924

TIENTSIN
jfc Tien-tsin
Tientsin—or the Ford of Heaven, according to the Chinese meaning of its name—
■> may now well be called the commercial capital of North China. Situated at the junction
of the Grand Canal and the Pei Ho in Lat. 39 deg. 4 min. N., Long. 117 deg. 4 min. E.
(approx.), it is some 80 miles distant from Peking by road and somewhat further by
river. Railway connection with the capital was established in 1897. A road between
the two places, 94 miles long, was completed towards the end of 1922, and communica¬
tion was further facilitated by the inauguration of a wireless telephone service on
March 7th of that year. The expeditions of the Allies in 1858-61 greatly enhanced
the importance of the city, as it then proved to be the military key of the capital
. and an excellent base. It was here on June 26th, 1858, that Lord Elgin signed
, the treaty which was to conclude the war, but which unhappily led to its prolongation.
The famous temple in which the treaty was signed, about a mile distant from the West
gate, was destroyed by British shells in July, 1900.
Tientsin owes its early importance to its location at the northern terminus of the
Grand Canal, and its later development is mainly due to the opening up of North China
to foreign trade, to improved railway communications with the Interior, and to the
deepening of the Bar and the Hai Ho by the agency of the Hai Ho Conservancy
Board. Before the advent of steamers, however, Tientsin had become a flourishing
centre for junk traffic, and when the tribute rice no longer followed the Grand Canal
route—owing to the shoaling of this ancient and celebrated waterway—it was sent to
' Tientsin in sea-going junks until comparatively recent years. It may be mentioned
here that a Commission, composed of Chinese and foreign engineers, has been estab¬
lished to draw up plans for the improvement of the Grand Canal, and hopes are
- entertained that this waterway will ultimately be restored to something like its former
usefulness. While it is improbable that it will ever again be used for through traffic
from the Yangtsze it will doubtless serve a very useful purpose as a means of com¬
munication between many busy trading centres in this Province and Tientsin. The
natural expansion of trade to be expected from Tientsin’s unique position as the
. distributing centre of North China has been arrested from time to time by the defective
communications with the sea; both the Hai Ho and the Taku Bar have stood in the
way of development and limited the carrying trade of the port to light-draught coasting
■ steamers. It would be difficult indeed to find another city in the world of equal com¬
mercial importance, or serving so rich and extensive and so densely populated a
hinterland, with so poor shipping facilities. A river improvement scheme of some
importance was inaugurated in 1898 unde)' the direction of Mr. de Linde, a local
engineer who had studied conservancy matters here over a number of years, and later
on raking operations on the Bar on a plan devised by Mr. T. T. Ferguson, of the
Maritime Customs, resulted in deepening the channel and facilitating navigation for
the time being. But it remained for the Hai Ho Conservancy Board, established by
the Peace Protocol, to prosecute the work of improving the navigational interests of the
port and thus render great services to shipping by successfully overcoming some of
the chief difficulties. Four important cuttings have been effected in the river, for
example, which have not only facilitated the movement of the flood tide but have
shortened the distance to the sea by some 20 miles by the removal of some corkscrew
windings and dangerous bends; and powerful dredgers have been acquired for work on
the Bar.
During the first half of the year 1917 the country suffered from a prolonged
drought, lasting for over six months. Later on there were incessent rains in the neigh¬
bouring province of Shansi, and reports of floods were circulated. Early in September
the Hunho was in flood, and, finally, the Grand Canal burst its banks a few miles west
of Tientsin, carrying away the main line of the Tientsin-Pukow Railway, which resulted
in the Concessions being flooded before much warning of the impending danger could be
given. The Racecourse and all the surrounding country were soon under water. Ef¬
forts were made to raise the bank of the Haikuangssu Canal, on the west of the British
- Concession, but the a vailable time and labour were insufficient, and during the night.