PART IV. The Improvement of the Existing Waterways and Canals

The Improvement of the Existing Waterways and Canals

The existing waterways and canals in connection with the Yangtze may be enumerated as follows:

a. The Grand Canal. b. The Hweiho. c. The Kiangnan Waterway System. d. The Poyang Waterway System. e. The Han River. f. The Tungting System. g. The Upper Yangtze.

a. The Grand Canal

The Grand Canal connects with the Yangtze at a point opposite Chinkiang and runs northward right up to Tientsin, a distance of over 600 miles. We understand that a detailed survey of the Kiangpeh part of the canal has begun and the work of improving it will commence soon. In our project, I propose to substitute the Kiangpeh portion of the Grand Canal by the Yangtze outlet of the Hweiho.

b. The Hweiho

The Hweiho rises in the northwest corner of Honan and runs southeast and east to the north of Anhwei and Kiangsu. Its outlets have been sealed up in recent years so its water has accumulated in the Hungtse Lake and it depends upon evaporation as its only means of disposing the water. Thus in the heavy rainy season, it floods a vast extent of the country surrounding the lake and causes great misery to millions of people. So the conservancy of the Hweiho is a very urgent question of China to-day. Recently many investigations have been made and many plans proposed. Mr. Jameson, chief engineer for the American Red Cross Society, has proposed two outlets for the Hweiho: one following the old course of the Yellow River to the sea and another through Paoying and Kao-yu Lakes to the Yangtze. In this project I propose to follow Mr. Jameson's plan for the sea outlet only as far as the old Yellow River and for the Yangtze outlet only as far as Yangchow. When the sea outlet or north branch reaches the old Yellow River I will lead it across into the Yenho and follow the Yenho to its northern turn. From there, we cut across the narrow strip of land into the Kuanho which enters the sea at the nearest deep water line. This saves a great deal of work of excavating the old course of the Hoangho. When the southern branch reaches Yangchow, I propose to make the canal pass east of that city instead of west as Mr. Jameson proposed, so that its current will join the Yangtze in the same direction at the new curve below Chinkiang city.

Both of these outlets or branches of the Hweiho should be made at least twenty feet deep right along, so that coastal vessels from the north to the Yangtze could use them as passage instead of going round the Yangtze estuary, thus shortening the distance by about 300 miles. And with twenty feet depth for both outlets, the Hweiho and the Hungtse Lake would be well drained and the present bottom of the lake, which is sixteen feet above sea level would be converted into agricultural land at once. Thus 6,000,000 mow of land could be reclaimed according to the estimate of Mr. Jameson, from the Hungtse and the neighboring lakes. If twenty dollars a mow be taken for its value, a sum of $120,000,000 could be netted. Besides this direct profit to the Government, there is an area of some 17,000 square miles of occasionally flooded land which would be made flood-proof so that normally we shall have two crops a year instead of two only in five years. That is to say, the 17,000 square miles or 10,880,000 acres will be made to produce five times more than at present. For instance, if the value of the gross production be estimated at fifty dollars an acre, then the total value would be $544,000,000 Mex. and five times this sum would amount to $2,720,000,000 Mex. What an enormous profit to the country!

c. The Kiangnan Waterway System

This system comprises the South Grand Canal, the Whangpoo, the Taihu, and its connections. The most important improvement I intend to make here is to widen and deepen the Wuhu-Ihsing Waterway between the Yangtze and the Taihu, and from there to dredge a deep channel right through the Taihu to a point midway of the Grand Canal between Suchow and Kashing. At Kashing, divide it into two branches:--one following the Kashing Sunkiang Canal to Whangpoo, and the other, to the Projected Port at Chapu. This waterway between the Yangtze and the Whangpoo, before it reaches Shanghai, should be made as wide and deep as possible so as to make it carry sufficient water to flush the Shanghai harbor as well as to provide a shorter passage for inland water vessels between the Yangtze and the seaports. This waterway will act as silt carrier by which the Taihu and the various lakes alongside of it may be reclaimed in the future. Besides the main object for which this canal is assigned, the reclamation scheme and the local traffic would also add profit to it. This makes its remuneration doubly sure. As no accurate surveys of the shallow Taihu and other lakes and swamps could be obtained, the exact number of mow to be reclaimed could not be given here. But in a rough estimate I should say that the reclaimed space of the Kiangnan Lakes would be about the same in extent as those of Kiangpeh (the North of the Yangtze).

d. The Poyang Waterway System

This system drains the entire area of Kiangzi province. Every hsien, city, and important town is reached by waterway. Waterways are the only means of communication in this province as well as in all the provinces of Southeastern China, before the advent of railways. The lower part of the Kiangsi waterway system suffers the same irregularities as those of the lower Yangtze as both are on low land. So, to regulate it, a similar work as that for the Yangtze should be applied. The Poyang Lake should be divided by deep channels from the junction of each river, and these should join together to form larger channels and finally unite into one main channel at a point near Chuki and, running through the narrow part of the lake, join the Yangtze at Hukow. The sides of the deep channels should be lined with submerged stone ridges as high as the shallow part of the lake, whereby the channels would serve the purpose of draining as well as of navigation.

The shallow space beside those channels will be reclaimed into arable land in due time. So the work of regulating the Poyang channels will be well paid by reclamation.

e. The Han River

This river is navigable for small crafts through its main body up to Hanchung in the southwest corner of Shensi; and through its branches up to Nanyang and Shekichen in the southwest corner of Honan. This navigable stream commands quite a large area of watershed. The upper part, that is above Siangyang, is in mountainous country. From Siangyang to Shayang it is in a wide, open valley and below Shayang it runs into the Hupeh swamp.

To improve this river dams should be built above Siangyang in order to utilize water power as well as to make locks for larger crafts to ascend to the navigable point now navigable only for small crafts. Below Siangyang, where the river is very wide and shallow, rudimental dikes should be constructed of stones or piles in order to restrict its channel and to reclaim the shallow space on both sides by natural process. In the swamp, the river should be straightened and deepened. A new canal between the Han and the Yangtze at Shasi should be constructed to provide a shorter passage between Hankow and Shasi and beyond. This canal in the swamp should be open to the lakes along its course so as to let the silt-carrying water enter into them in the flood season, thus filling them up quicker.

f. The Tungting System

This system of waterway drains the whole province of Hunan and beyond. The most important branches are the Siangkiang and the Yuankiang. The former runs through Hunan into the northeast corner of Kwangsi province and connects with the Sikiang system by a canal near Kweilin. The latter runs across the west border of Hunan into the eastern part of Kweichow province. Both could be improved for the navigation of large crafts. The canal between the Yangtze and the Sikiang watersheds should be reconstructed and modern locks should be provided in it as well as along the two waterways. Thus, vessels of ten feet draught may freely pass between the Yangtze and the Sikiang. The Tungting Lake should be drained by deep channels in the same manner as the Poyang Lake, and its shallow space reclaimed by natural process.

g. The Upper Yangtze

I include the part from Hankow to Ichang also in the Upper Yangtze, because it is at Hankow that the ocean navigation ends, and the inland water communication begins. So, in dealing with the improvement of the Upper Yangtze, I will begin at Hankow. At present the Upper Yangtze is navigable for shallow draught steamers up to Kiating, a point about 1,100 miles above Hankow by river. If improvement be made farther on, than shallow draught steamers could navigate right up to Chengtu, the capital of Szechuen province, and the center of the richest plain in West China, about sixty miles up the Min River.

To improve the Upper Yangtze from Hankow to Yochow, the work is much similar to that of the lower part. The channel should be regulated by rudimental dikes. The concave embankments in sharp bends should be protected by stone or concrete; obstacles in midstream should be removed. The great loop, called the Farmer Bend, above Kinkow, should be cut through at the neck of Paichow, and the sharp point of Hanchin Kwang should be cut away to make the curve of the river more gentle.

The tortuous part of the Yangtze, north of the Tungting Lake, between Kinho Kow and Skipper Point, should be blocked up altogether and a new channel made through Tungting Lake, returning to the Yangtze by the Yochow Channel. This avoids the crooked passage and shortens the river course considerably. From Skipper Point to Ichang the dilatations should be restricted by dikes of stone or piling, and some sharp points of the shores should be cut away to make the curves more gentle.

The Yangtze River above Ichang enters the Gorges which run about a hundred miles up to the Szechuen depression, known as the Red Basin. This part of the river from Ichang right along to its source is confined by rocky banks, very narrow and deep, having an average depth of six fathoms and at some particular points even thirty fathoms. Many rapids and obstructions occur along its course.

To improve the Upper Yangtze, the rapids should be dammed up to form locks to enable crafts to ascend the river as well as to generate water power. Obstructions should be blasted and boulders removed. Thus, a ten-foot channel right along from Hankow to Chungking could be obtained so that through inland water transportation could be established from Chungking to Peking in the north and to Canton in the south, as well as to all navigable points in China Proper all the year round. In this way, transportation expenses to the richest emporium in West China could be reduced hundredfold. The benefit to the people will be enormous and the encouragement to commerce will indeed be great.