Page:Illustrations of China and Its People vol. III.pdf/44



HANKOW is tlie highest point up the Yangtsze river at which foreign merchants are allowed at present to reside. It holds a most important position at the angle formed by the junction of the Han with the Yangtsze. The former, in ancient times, was known as the Mien river; and it was not until the last decade of the fifteenth century that it created its present channel, and those advantages of site to which Hankow in a great measure owes its prosperity. Previous to this change in the course of the Han, the town of Hanyang monopolized the trade, and is said to have been a flourishing port in the remote period treated of in the native " History of the Three States." Hankow, under the Ming rule, rose to be the commercial centre of the Empire, and indeed its prosperity during the centuries which followed steadily increased, meeting with its first severe check at the hands of the Taipings who in 1855, sacked and burned the town.

Wu-chang-fu, the capital of Hupeh, Hanyang, and Hankow, all stand in close proximity on a vast plain, with nothing except the confluent rivers to divide them from one another. Above Hanyang there is a low range of hills. Standing on a summit I had a wonderful panorama before me. Wu-chang was to be seen on the south bank of the Great River, and beneath my feet were the closely-packed houses and narrow alleys of the town of Hanyang; while beyond, across the Han, and separated by the tortuous windings of this important tributary, I could discern the crowded dwellings of Hankow, and further on the imposing buildings where the foreign settlers reside (see No. 30). The area covered by these three towns is probably the most densely-populated space in the Empire, the native population of Hankow alone having been estimated in 1872 at 600,000. In striking contrast to these populous towns is the country surrounding them, a district thinly scattered over with tiny hamlets and solitary peasant homes. The fact is that the alluvial plains are usually flooded in summer, and farmers are discouraged from settling there, as they run the risk of losing their labour and their capital. Many of the huts are built on artificial mounds. Descending to the Han, I found a busy and interesting scene. The narrow river was so crowded with native trading craft of all descriptions and sizes, that only a narrow channel for the passage of boats could be obtained. A small fleet of vessels from Szechuan had been built of undressed planks of pine, and had been simply put together for the down river voyage to Hankow, there to be broken up when their cargoes had been disposed of, and sold for firewood. The chief exports of Hankow are tea, tobacco, silk, and oil.

iANKOW, as I have already indicated, stands on the left bank of the Yangtsze, and is separated from a Hanyang by the Han, at the point where that stream falls into the Great River.

3 The foreign settlement there has a frontage to the Yangtsze, but the plot of ground on which it

has been built is unfortunately lower than that occupied by the native town. Why this site should have been selected it is impossible to tell. The mistake is one which the natives themselves would never have committed, and it has entailed great suffering during times of flood. But the Chinese, with characteristic impartiality, raised little objection when the foreigners fixed upon the site. All they did was to demand an exorbitant price, though they ultimately consented to sell the land in lots, costing 2,500 taels apiece. During