Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/379

Rh upon which the operations are based is a sound one, and if the present rate of progress is maintained the Junk Channel should, within the next three or four years, be navigable at any state of the tide for vessels drawing 20 feet of water. The cost of the improvement will not be less than a million sterling. The ideal project—that of cutting a new mouth for the river through the Pootung Peninsula, whereby Shanghai would have been brought considerably nearer the sea—had to be abandoned owing to the sacrifice of vested interests at Woosung that it involved. When Woosung was made a separate port the idea prevailed that its greater accessibility would lead to the eclipse of Shanghai. A bund was constructed and the land was laid out in squares in readiness for houses and offices, which, however, have yet to be erected. The two places have been connected by railway since 1898.

From Woosung to Shanghai, a distance of some thirteen miles, the river is alive with shipping. Liners, as has been stated, anchor off the mouth of the stream, but at high water large steamers may be seen passing up and down. A constant succession of tenders, lighters, junks, and sampans is met at all states of the tide, and it is interesting to watch the skill with which the Chinese navigate their clumsy-looking and heavily-laden craft. Not infrequently a junk will carry a cargo of poles lashed to each side of it in such a way as to make steering seem an impossibility. Long before the landing-stage at Shanghai is reached, the river banks begin to wear a busy aspect, cotton mills, silk filatures, docks, wharves, and godowns appearing in almost unbroken succession.

Except as a flourishing centre of trade, Shanghai fails upon first acquaintance to create a very favourable impression. This is due to the fact that the land upon which the Settlement stands, is absolutely flat, and, that, owing to the short-sighted policy of the old Committee of Roads and Jetties, the streets are too narrow to be beautified with trees or to exhibit advantageously the many commanding buildings which abut upon them. Nor can it be said that the red and black bricks which are so freely employed in building construction produce a very pleasing effect. The general style of architecture presents no very distinctive features. All the houses have verandahs, but the arcades which are so welcome to the pedestrian in Hongkong and Singapore are here unknown. The reason is, of course, that for three-fourths of the year Shanghai enjoys a temperate climate, extreme heat being experienced only in June, July, and August. During these months the thermometer sometimes registers as much as 100 deg. Fah. in the shade, and being usually accompanied by considerable humidity, this high temperature proves very trying. At all times of the year, sudden changes are liable to occur—on April 24th last, for instance, the thermometer fell 36 deg. in four hours—but, notwithstanding this and the fact that it is so low-lying, Shanghai is by no means an unhealthy place in which to live. The death-rate among foreigners is about the same as that of a large English city. It has ranged during the past twenty years from 24·6 per mille in 1891 to 11·2 per mille in 1905. Serious epidemics are of rare occurrence, although there is no statutory power to compel notification of infectious disease. Tuberculosis and small-pox are the infectious diseases most prevalent. Cholera is endemic in certain districts occupied by the poorest class of Chinese, but foreigners enjoy comparative immunity from the disease. Plague has never gained a footing—thanks to the stringent quarantine regulations. The advantages which Shanghai thus offers as a place of residence to foreigners have been added to very considerably by the enterprise and public spirit of the inhabitants, who enjoy every comfort and convenience to be found in the most progressive European cities. An ample supply of good water is furnished by two private companies, and electricity has been used as an illuminant since 1882. The means of locomotion has been very considerably improved during the past twelve months by the introduction of electric tramways, which traverse all the principal thoroughfares of the two Settlements. The demand for news and other reading matter is fully met by the publication of five daily newspapers, a plethora of periodicals, as well as by the provision of a public library. Quite exceptional facilities have been provided for indulgence in all forms of out-door recreation, and numerous clubs have been established for the promotion of social intercourse. An excellent band, maintained by the Municipality, gives public