PART III. The Construction of River Ports

The Construction of River Ports

The construction of river ports along the Yangtze between Hankow and the sea will be one of the most remunerative propositions in our development scheme. For this part of the Yangtze Valley is richest in agricultural and mineral products in China and is very densely populated. With the cheap water transportation provided by the completion of the regulating work both sides of this water highway will surely become industrial beehives. And with cheap labor near by, it will not be a surprise if in the near future both banks will become two continuous cities, as it were, right along the whole extent of the river from Hankow to the sea. In the meantime a few suitable spots should be chosen for profitable city development. For this purpose I will start from the lower part of the river as follows:

a. Chinkiang and North Side. b. Nanking and Pukow. c. Wuhu. d. Anking and South Side. e. Poyang Port. f. Wuhan.

a. Chinkiang and North Side

Chinkiang is situated at the junction of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze. It was an important center of inland water traffic between the north and the south before the steam age. But it will resume its former grandeur and become more important when the old inland waterway is improved, and new ones are constructed. For it is the gateway between the Hoangho and Yangtze valleys. Besides, by the southern portion of the Grand Canal, Chinkiang is connected with the Tsientang valley--the richest part of China. Thus, this city is bound to grow into a great commercial center in the near future.

In our regulation work of the Yangtze, we shall add a piece of new land, over six square miles, in front of Chinkiang. This land on the south side of the river will be utilized for city-planning for our new Chinkiang. On the north side, land should also be taken up by the state to build another city. The north side will be bound to outgrow that of the south for the whole of Hoangho Valley could only emerge into the Yangtze by waterway through this point. Docks should be built between here and Yangchow for accommodation of inland vessels, and modern facilities should be provided for transhipment between inland vessels and ocean-going steamers. This port should be made as a distributing center as well as a collecting center for the salt of the eastern coast. This, with the help of modern methods, will reduce transportation expenses. Stone or concrete bunds or quays should be built on both sides of the river and tidal jetties should be provided for train ferries. In time, when commerce grows, tunnels or bridges may be added to facilitate traffic of the two sides. The streets should be wide so as to meet modern demands. The water front and its neighborhood should be planned for industrial and commercial uses and the land beyond should be planned for residential purpose. Every modern public utility should be provided. In regard to the details of planning the city, I must leave them to the expert.

b. Nanking and Pukow

Nanking was the old capital of China before Peking, and is situated in a fine locality which comprises high mountains, deep water and a vast level plain--a rare site to be found in any part of the world. It also lies at the center of a very rich country on both sides of the lower Yangtze. At present, although ruined and desolate, it still has a population of over a quarter of a million. Once it was the home of many industries especially silk and now the finest satin and velvet are still produced here. Nanking has yet a greater future before her when the resources of the lower Yangtze Valley are properly developed.

In the regulation of the Yangtze I propose to cut away the town of Hsiakwan, so that the wharf of Nanking could be removed into the deep channel between Metsechow and the outskirt of Nanking. This channel should be blocked up, thereby a wet dock could be formed to accommodate all ocean-going vessels. This point is much nearer the inhabited parts of the city than Hsiakwan. And the land between this projected wet dock and the city could form a new commercial and industrial quarter which would be many times larger than Hsiakwan. Metsechow in time, when commerce grows, may also be developed into city lots and business quarters. For the future development of Nanking the land within and without the city should be taken up at the present price under the same principle which I have proposed for the Projected Port at Chapu.

Pukow, opposite Nanking, on the other side of the river, will be the great terminus of all the railways of the great northern plain to the Yangtze. It will be the nearest river port for the rich coal and iron fields of Shansi and Honan, giving access to the lower Yangtze district and hence to the sea. As the great transcontinental trunk line to the sea whether terminating at Shanghai or at our Projected Port, would pass through this point, the construction of a tunnel under the Yangtze to connect Nanking and Pukow by rail at the same time when the cities are being constructed, will not be at all premature. This will at once make possible a through train journey from Shanghai to Peking.

Concrete or stone embankment should be built along the shore above and below the present Pukow point many miles in each direction. Modern streets should be laid out on the land within the embankment so as to be ready for various building purposes. The land on the north side of the river should be taken up by the state for public uses of this international development scheme on the same basis as at our Projected Ports.

c. Wuhu

Wuhu is a town of 120,000 inhabitants and is the center of the rice trade in the lower part of the Yangtze. It is at this point that I propose to make an intake of the water which will go to flush the Whangpoo River at Shanghai, and which will form the upper end of a canal to the sea at Chapu. In the regulating work of the Yangtze the concave part above the junction of the Yangki Ho has to be filled up and the convex part of the opposite side has to be cut away. The junction of the projected canal and the river will be at about a mile or so below the Lukiang junction. The projected canal will run northeast to a point between the southeast corner of Wuhu city and the foot of the hill. There it joins the Yangki Ho and, following the course as far as Paichiatien, branches off in the northeastern direction. This gives Wuhu a southeast waterfront along the left side of the canal. New bunds should be built along both sides of the canal as well as alongside the Yangtze and at the junction of the canal docks for inland vessels should be constructed with modern plants for transhipment of goods. Wide streets should be laid out from the Bund of the Yangtze far into the inland following the direction of the canal. The bund alongside the Yangtze should be reserved for commercial purposes and those alongside the canal for factories. Wuhu is in the midst of a rich iron and coal field, so it will surely become an industrial center when this iron and coal field is properly developed. Cheap materials, cheap labor, and cheap foodstuffs are abundant at the spot waiting for modern science and machinery to turn them into greater wealth for the benefit of mankind.

d. Anking and South Side

Anking, the capital of Anhwei, was once a very important city but since its destruction by the Taiping war it has never recovered its former greatness. Its present population is about 40,000 only. Its immediate neighborhood is very rich in mineral and agricultural products. The great tea district of Liu-an and the rich mineral district in the southeastern corner of Honan province will have to make Anking their shipping port when railways are developed. In the Yangtze Conservancy work, the concave turn of the river in front and west of the city has to be filled up. This reclaimed land should be for the extension of a new city, where modern transportation plants should be built.

Eagle Point, on the south side opposite Anking should be cut away to make the river curve more gently and to give the channel a uniform width. A new city should be laid out at this point, for from here we command the vast tea districts of southern Anhwei and western Chekiang. The rich inland city of Hweichow, with the highly productive country around it, will have to make this port its shipping station. As Wuhu is the center of the rice trade these twin cities of Anking will be the centers of the tea trade. Like Wuhu, these twin cities are also situated in the midst of rich iron and coal fields which will assist them to become important industrial centers in the near future. So to build twin cities at this point of the river will be a very profitable undertaking.

e. The Poyang Port

I propose to construct a port at a point between the Poyang Lake and the Yangtze River. This will be the sole port of the Kiangsi province. Every city of this province is connected by natural waterways which, if improved, will become a splendid water transportation system. The province of Kiangsi has a population of 30,000,000 and is extremely rich in mineral resources. A modern port acting as a commercial and industrial center for the development of this resourceful province would be a most remunerative proposition in our project.

The site of the port will be on the west side of the entrance to the Poyang Lake and the right bank of the Yangtze. It will be an entirely new city built on new ground, part of which will be reclaimed from the shallow side of the lake. In the regulating work of the Poyang Channel, a training wall should be built from the foot of the Taku Tang Hill to Swain Point opposite to Stone Bell Hill of Hukow. A closed dock should be constructed within this training wall for the accommodation of inland water vessels. The city should be laid out on the triangular space formed by the right bank of the Yangtze, the left side of the Poyang Lake and the foot hill of the Lushan Mountain. This triangle is about 10 miles on each side, excellent for city development. The porcelain industry should be established here instead of at Kingteh Chen, for great damages often occur owing to the lack of transportation facilities, and to the necessity of transhipment for the export of the finished articles from the latter place. Modern plants on a large scale should be adopted for the manufacturing of cheap wares as well as fine articles in our projected Poyang Port, for here we shall have the greater advantage of collecting raw materials than at Kingteh Chen. Thus the concentrating of the various manufactures in an advantageous center will result in quickening the growth of our new city. This Poyang Port is bound to grow into one of the great commercial and manufacturing centers in China, judging from the possibilities of Kiangsi alone. It will not only be a great shipping port of the Yangtze but will also be a railway center between North and South China. Thus to develop this port on a large scale is quite justifiable from an economic point of view.

f. Wuhan

Wuhan signifies the three cities of Wuchang, Hankow, and Hanyang. This point is the headwater of our projected ocean passage, the pivot of the railway system of China Proper, and will become the most important commercial metropolis in the country. The population of these three cities is over a million and could be easily doubled or trebled if improvements would be made. At present, Hanyang possesses the largest iron works in China, and Hankow, many modern industries, while Wuchang is becoming a great cotton manufacturing city. Besides, Hankow is the trade center of Central and West China, and the greatest tea market we have. The provinces of Hupeh, Hunan, Szechuen, and Kweichow and a part of Honan, Shensi, and Kansu all depend upon Hankow as their only port in the outside world. When railways are developed in China, Wuhan will be still more important and will surely become one of the greatest cities in the world. So in planning the future city of Wuhan we must adopt for its development a scale as large as that of New York or London.

In the regulation of the Yangtze embankments, we have to reclaim the front of Hankow from the jetty of Lungwangmiao at the junction of the Han River right along the left bank to the point where the Yangtze turns eastward. This reclaimed space will be at an average of about 500 to 600 yards wide. This will narrow down the river at this part to give a uniform channel of 5 to 6 cables in width and to give the Hankow settlement a strip of valuable land along its waterfront. This will also help to pay a part of the expenses for city construction. The sharp bend of the Han River just before it joins the Yangtze should be straightened so as to make a gentler curve around Lungwangmiao Point and thus enable the currents of both rivers to flow in the same direction at their junction. The Hanyang embankment will follow pretty closely the present shore line but not beyond the iron works jetty. The wide space of the river above Wuchang city should be walled in to make a closed dock for inland water as well as ocean going vessels. Below Wuchang, an embankment parallel to that of the left side should be built so as to make the future city extend far below the present one. A tunnel should be constructed to connect both embankments at a point where the Kinghan railway makes its first turn when it comes to the Yangtze River. And another tunnel or bridge should be constructed between Hankow and Hanyang on one side and Wuchang on the other at the junction of the Han River and the Yangtze. Additional tunnels or bridges may be constructed at different points when the city grows larger in the future. All the outlying land of these trio-cities should be taken up on the same basis as at our projected seaports, so that private monopoly and speculation in land may be prevented, and that the unearned increment will go to the State to help the payment of capital and interest on the foreign loans which are to be made in this international development scheme.