CHINA'S NEW YORK

Dunstan Times, Issue 3513, 16 March 1931, Page 6

CHINA'S NEW YORK

HANKOW OF THE YANGTSE BUSIEST INTERIOR CITY Hankow, an armed camp because of the constant recent threat of invasion by armies of Chinese Communists, is one of China’s most important cities, ranking commercially as the busiest of the interior trade centres of the republic. Although COO miles inland, the city, thanks to the great Yaugtse Kiang, is a port for ocean steamers. China’s greatest steel and iron mills are located there, and the city is the assembling point and shipping centre lor tremendous quantities of produce from the farms and gardens and groves of China, and ores from her mines. In its purely local geography Hankow can be compared to New York. It consists of three cities grouped across the water from each other like New York, Brooklyn, and Jersey City This group is situated where the narrow Han River meets the broad Yantse, which is two miles across at this point. Hankow proper, by far the largest of the three communities, lies in a triangle between the left bank of the Han and the left bank ot the Yangtse. Across the Han is Hanyang, where the tall chimneys of great steel mills pour out an incessant stream of smoke. Across the Yangtse from both is Wuchang, capital of Hupeh province, and for ages an important political centre. Together the three closely associated cities have a population of one and a-half million people, with close to a million of the total in Hankow. The group is often referred to as “ the Wu-Han cities.” Hankow’s best aspect is presented to the traveller who approaches the city by river steamer from down stream. Ror more than two miles the international Bund stretches along the north bank of the river. It is a broad boulevard, paved, shaded by rows of trees, and laced on the land side by group after group of imposing buildings. In the distance can be seen the extensive concrete “go-downs” (warehouses), in which hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of cotton, silk, tea, wood-oil, beans, and dozens of other commodities are stored for shipment. Farthest up stream, adjoining the native city, in the British concession, which was the first unit of the “ international city ” It was established in 1861, when Hankow was first opened to foreign trade. It extends for half a mile along the river, and is joined by the Russian Concession, which dates from 1896. Next lies the French Concession. established the same year, and beyond it the former German Concession, now taken over by the Chinese. Farthest down stream is the Japanese Concession,' set apart in 1898. There is no separate American settlement. The Consulate of the United States and that of Denmark are in the French Concession. In the British area are the Spanish, Dutch, and Belgian Consulates. The Italian, Swedish, and Norwegian Consulates are in the former German territory. The concessions are marked by relatively broad, well-kept streets and by the handsome buildings that house the legation offices, hotels, banks, and shops. Modern water and sewer systems have been installed. These improved conditions have attracted tens of thousands of well-to-do Chinese families to take up their residence in the concessions. SWARMS OF HUMAN ANTS. The native city, of Hankow presents a marked contrast to the concessions. Houses and hovels are crowded along narrow streets devoid of sanitation, and the populace are dependent on water from the Yangtse, much of it carried iu pails by coolies. The city was practically destroyed by fire in 1911, during the revolution which overthrew the empire and established the republic. It was hoped that the city would bo rebuilt along modern lines, with wide streets, but instead the old tangle of alleys and crooked streets lined by haphazard structures sprang up, so that congestion is even worse than before. China’s dependence on man-power can be scon in striking fashion when ships are being loaded and unloaded at one of the many “ hulks ” (floating piers) along the river. An unbroken string of men under bales and bags and packages toils back and forth, swarming over the hulk and its gang planks, the dry mud of the river bank, and up streets for perhaps two or three blocks to and from warehouses. They remind one of labour armies oi ants carrying leaves and bits of food. In normal times the white population of Hankow’s Concession find time for recreation at one of tlio most complete clubs to be found in the Orient. Known as “ The Race Club,” it provides facilities for horse racing, riding, shooting, golf, swimming, tennis, cricket, bowling, and dancing.