Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/700



HANKOW.

ANKOW, which is 602 nautical miles distant from Shanghai, is situated in the province of Hupeh, within the angle formed by the junction of the river Han and the Yangtsze-Kiang. The native city spreads itself along both rivers, and the foreign settlements occupy the bank of the Yangtse below it. On the right bank of the river Han is the city of Hanyang, and, nearly opposite, on the right bank of the Yangtsze, the Prefectural city of Wuchang, the capital of the province and the seat of the Government under the Hukuang Viceroy (at present Chen Kuei Lung). The population of the three cities is estimated at about half a million. Hankow flourished for many centuries until it was devastated in the Taeping [sic] rebellion. For some time after that it was merely regarded as a suburb of Hanyang, but it has now quite outstripped the older city in wealth and importance. In his work on "The Yangtsze," Captain Blakiston gives the following excellent description of a bird's eye view of the place and its surroundings. "Hankow," he says, "is situated just where an irregular range of semi-detached low hills crosses a particularly level country on both sides of the main river in an east and west direction. Stationed on Pagoda Hill, Hanyang, a spectator looks down on almost as much water as land, even when the rivers are low. At his feet sweeps the magnificent Yangtsze, nearly a mile in width; from the west, and skirting the northern edge of the range of hills already mentioned, comes the river Han, narrow and canal-like, to add its quota, and serving as one of the highways of the country; and to the north-west and north is an extensive treeless flat, so little elevated above the river that the scattered hamlets which dot its surface are, without exception, raised on mounds—probably artificial works of a now distant age. A stream or two traverse its farther part, and flow into the main river. Carrying the eye to the right bank of the Yangtsze, one sees enormous lakes and lagoons both to the north-west and south-east sides of the hills beyond the provincial city."

The climate of Hankow, it must be admitted, is far from perfect. During four or five months it is extremely hot, the thermometer in summer-time occasionally registering as high as 105° Fahrenheit. Especially in July and August is the atmosphere close and oppressive. The months of October, November, and the early part of December are usually very pleasant, but the days of sunshine may be interrupted by cloudy weather, with cold piercing winds at nightfall. In the early months of the year the thermometer averages about 44° Fahrenheit, but sometimes falls much lower. The cold is very penetrating then by reason of the dampness in the air. Snow falls occasionally, but it generally melts away during the day. Everything possible is being done to safeguard the health of the community, and the sanitary conditions are improving year by year. The large dyke built two years ago to prevent the annual flooding of the plain immediately behind the city, and the gradual filling in of low-lying ground to remove stagnant water have helped to reduce the plague of mosquitoes and sickness. Upwards of 50,000 tons of mud have been brought by trolley into the British Concession to fill in vacant plots at a cost of $11,823. and a far greater amount, for which figures are not available, has been brought by another trolley line and by thousands of coolies, who take the mud from the river bank at low water. In the Russian Concession the ground has been raised some six feet by the deposition of some 108,000 tons of mud, and the work in both concessions is still proceeding. The French and German Concession have likewise been raised and bunded, and the Japanese Concession is being treated similarly.

Before the opening of the port to foreign trade, Hankow had a troubled history. The three cities—Hankow, Hanyang, and Wuchang—were taken and re-taken no fewer than six times during the Taeping rebellion, and when evacuated by the insurgents in 1855 they were to a large extent laid waste. Hankow's record as a foreign settlement dates from 186l. It was included among the Treaty ports in accordance with the terms of Article X of the Treaty of Tientsin of 1858, between China and Great Britain, and in 1861 Mr. (afterwards Sir) Harry Parkes commenced negotiations with the Viceroy of Wuchang for a British Concession. The ground asked for was about seventy-five acres in extent, adjoining the native city, and having a river frontage of about half a mile. It was especially stipulated that foreigners should not be confined to "factory