Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/649

] of the province which is properly called Ho-nan, or &quot; south of the River,&quot; is the Foo-new Shan range, which runs east and west across this part of the province. As the Kwan-lun range, it forms an almost impassable barrier between Kokonor and Tibet, and in China it separates com pletely the northern from the central provinces. Coal is found on the south of the Yellow River in the districts of Ilo-nan Foo, Lushan, and Joo Chow. The chief products of the province are, however, agricultural, especially in the valley of the Tang-ho and Pe-ho, which is an extensive and densely populated plain running north and south from the Foo-new Shan. Cotton is also grown extensively and forms the principal article of export, and a considerable quantity of wild silk is produced from the Foo-new Shan. Three roads from the east and south unite at Ho-nan Foo, and one from the west. The southern road leads to Joo Chow, where it forks, one branch going to She-ke-chin, connecting the trade from Fan-ching, Han-kow, and the Han River generally, and the other to Chow-kea-kow near the city of Chin-chow Foo, at the confluence of the three rivers which unite to form the Sha-ho ; the second road runs parallel with the Yellow River to Kai-fung Foo ; the third crosses the Yellow River at Mang-tsin Heen, and passes thence in a north-easterly direction to Hu&amp;lt;ae-king Foo, Sew-u oo Heen, and Wei-hiuuy Foo, at which place it joins the high road from Peking to Fan-clung ; and the western road follows the southern bank of the Yellow River for 700 le to its great bend at the fortified pass known as the Tung-kican, where it unites with the great waggon road leading through Shan-se from Peking to Se-ngan Foo.

The province of Keang-soo is bounded on the N. by Shan-tung, on the S. by Che-keang. on the W. by Gan- hwuy, and on the E. by the sea. It occupies an area of 45,000 square miles, and the population, which is larger than that of any other province of China, is estimated at 37,843,501. Keang-soo forms part of the great plain of Northern China. There are no mountains within its limits, and but few hills. It is watered as no other province in China is watered. The Grand Canal runs through it from south to north; the Yang-tsze Keang crosses its southern portion from west to east ; it possesses several lakes, of which the Tai-hoo is the most noteworthy, and numberless streams connect the canal with the sea. Its coast is studded with low islands and sand-banks, the results of the deposits brought down by the Yellow River during the different periods in which in the course of its history it has flowed into the Yellow Sea. Keang-soo is rich in places of interest. Nanking, &quot; the Southern Capital,&quot; was the seat of the Chinese court until the commence ment of the 15th century, and in modern times it has been famous as having been the headquarters of the Tai-ping rebels from the year 1853, when they took the city by assault, to 1864, when its garrison yielded to Col. Gordon s &quot; ever victorious army&quot; (see NANKING), and Hang-chow Foo and Soo-chow Foo on the Tai-hoo, are reckoned to be the most beautiful cities in China. &quot; Above there is Paradise, below are Soo and Hang,&quot; says the Chinese provero. Of late years also Shang-hai has earned for itself a place among the notabilities of the province. Tea and silk are the principal articles of commerce produced in Keang-soo, and next in importance are cotton, sugar, and medicines. The silk manufactured in the looms of Soo-chow is famous all over the empire, as a proof of which it may be mentioned that, on the occasion of the marriage of the late emperor Tung-che, large orders were received by the manufacturers in that city for silken goods to be bestowed as imperial presents and to be converted into wedding garments. In the mountains near Nanking, coal, plumbago, iron ore, and marble are found. Shang-hai on the Woo-siing River, and Chin-keang on the Yang-tsze Keang, are the two Treaty Ports in the province. According to the trade reports for 1874, the value of the goods exported from Shanghai in that year amounted to 27,541,834 taels, and that of those imported to 89,636,343 taels. From Chin-keang during the same period, 317,277 worth of merchandize was exported, while the value of the imports amounted to 3,527,066. In explanation of this latter figure the British vice-consul writes, &quot; with the exception of opium, the sale of which has steadily advanced since the opening of the port (in 1861), all the principal articles of import exhibit a decline.&quot; The province of Gan-hwuy &ldquo;Peace and Plenty,&rdquo; is bounded on the N. by Ho-nan, on the E. by Keang-soo and Che-keang, on the S. by Keang-se, and on the W. by Hoo-pih and Ho-nan. It covers an area of 48,461 square miles, and contains a population of 34,108,059 souls. Its principal city is Gan-kinrj on the Yang-tsze Keang, besides which it numbers seven prefectural cities. The southern half of the province, that portion south of the Yang-tsze Keang, forms part of the Nan-shan, or hilly belt of the south-eastern provinces, and produces, besides cotton and iron ore, large quantities of green tea. Gan-hiouy is one of the most productive provinces of China. Over the whole of its southern portion tea is largely grown, notably in the districts of Hivuy-chow Foo, Tung-lew, Ta-tung, and Woo-hoo. Speaking of this part Baron von Richthofen says, &quot; The exuberant fertility of the soil in the lower portions of the province is not excelled by anything I have seen in temperate climates. No expense has, therefore, been spared in protecting the lowlands by embankments, and introducing a perfect system of irrigation. Both deserve the highest admiration. On the King River I have walked for miles through fields of hemp the stalks of which were from 11 to 13 feet high. Cotton, too is raised in large quantities.&quot; The Shun-gan Keang is the prin cipal river of the province, and is of great importance for foreign commerce, supplying as it does direct water com munication between some of the principal tea-growing dis tricts and the neighbourhood of Hang-chow. The province of Keang-se is bounded on the N. by lloo-pih and Gan-liwuy, on the S. by Ku ang-tung, on the E. by Fuh-keen, and on the W. by Hoo-nan. It extends over an area of 72,176 square miles, and its population by the last census was returned as being 19,000,000. It is divided into fourteen prefectures, and the provincial capital is Nan-chang Foo, a city situated on the Kea Keang, about 35 miles from the Po-yang Lake, into which the river empties itself. The whole province is mountainous, being traversed in a south-westerly and north-easterly direction by the Nan-shan ranges. The largest river is the Kea Keang, which rises in the mountains in the south of the province and flows westward into the Po-yang Lake as mentioned above. During the summer time it has water of sufficient depth for steamers of light draught as far as Nan-chang, and it is navigable by native craft for a considerable distance beyond that city. Another river of note is the Chang Keang, which has its sourca in the province of Gan-hwuy, and flows into the Po-yang Lake, connecting in its course the Woo-yuen district, from whence come the celebrated &quot; Moyune,&quot; green teas, and the city of King-tih-chin, celebrated for its pottery, with Jaou-chow Foo on the lake. The black &quot; Kaisow &quot; teas are brought from the Ho-kow district, where they are grown, down the River Kin to Juy-hung on the lake, and the Sew-ho connects by a navigable stream E-ning Chow, in the neigh bourhood of which city the best black teas of this part of China are produced, with Woo-ching, the principal mart of trade on the lake. The principal productions of the province are tea (of which 32,733,053 fi&amp;gt; were exported in 1874), China ware, grass cloth, hemp, paper, tobacco, 