Show GRABBED BY JAPANESE 4 V ap M nn y V 1 ma W 11 klokey pokey blan of neiping cities of north china that have been occupied by nippon prepared by national geographic geo society I 1 washington D C service occupation is is not new to the port of Tsing tao JAPANESE i china where nippon troops i were recently reported to have been denied permission to land by chinese officials while germany was busy in europe during the world war the city then under a 99 year lease to the german government was occupied by the japanese until hostilities in europe ceased facing the yellow sea on the southern coast of shantung peninsula Tsing tao has been from time tim e to time a provincial capital as well as a dilapidated fishing port germany in 1898 saw the city as a a great port a german hong kong hence the 99 year lease the german lease was eight years old when the harbor was opened to foreign trade in the meantime several thousand germans moved in constructed new buildings and wide tree lined boulevards new water and sewage systems were installed granite piers built out in the harbor which had been dredged and marked so that ocean going vessels could dock and discharge or load cargoes with modern equipment when the world war var broke Tsing tao had not only become a modern commercial titan along the chinese coast but its splendid beaches and new hotel lions made it a vacation rendezvous for many residents of foreign colonies in the orient today Tsing tao is not the german Tsing tao before the germans were driven out they blew up its fortifications and demolished many other mementoes of their occupation japanese airmen did considerable damage with airplane bombs yet Tsing tao remains one of chinas cainas leading ports a commercial center another chinese city in which japanese troops have concentrated recently is 70 miles from the gates of neiping Pei ping news dispatches from stated that its principal railway station was converted into an army supply depot for Nip pons soldiers few inland chinese population centers display the modern aspect that the traveler discovers in while the city has its quarter of narrow winding byways where children play amid odo odors rs typical of a chinese city the foreign quarter spreads its influence a amid m id modern settings within a ston stones es throw of the tortuous streets are bank and commercial buildings of which most occidental cities would be proud and there are the concessions of the british french and italians is the chief com commercial commercio merci al center of north china largely because of its geographic location the city is only about 30 miles from the sea and nearby on the lower hai ho in reality is the seaport the pinyun ho flows into the city from th the e northwest and the grand canal also passes through it besides these trade arteries century old caravan routes and railroads spread from like spokes in a gigantic wheel penetrating tra ting shantung jerol manchu kuo honan hansu and inner mongolia while traders still ply the old routes and railroads and small vessels add to the commercial animation of there also are industries in the city that employ many of its people flour milling is a chief industry while cotton mills operate more than spindles As is on the way from the he sea to neiping Pei ping it has long been a U 1 key to the old capital fighting in the neiping area has again thrown a world spotlight on that frequently fought over city former capital of china and always a center of international interests many foreigners are residents of neiping Pei ping where embassies to china are retained although offices must be established also in the official capital of the central government ern ment such an arranger arrangement rient has been adopted by the united states which retains an embassy in heip ing guarded by a detachment of united states marines other foreign embassies with arned armed guards are the british french italian and japanese neiping the focus of affairs neiping was the focus of perhaps the most widespread international tension on chinese record during the anti foreign boxer uprising in 1900 when troops of several nations including the united states were landed and marched inland to rescue all Pei pings foreign residents who had been besieged for two months in the ie t british embassy As commercial and cultural mistress of chinas cainas northern plain neiping is the count rys second largest city being surpassed only by shanghai its geographic location brings it into contact with jap anese controlled Manchu kuo on the northeast semi independent tibetan provinces Pro vinceson on the west and russian controlled mongolian republics on the northwest the foreign embassies and branch offices of foreign business firms in neiping Pei ping give it the greatest international importance north of the yangtze river aacen ter of the council it is a focus for the independence movement which has weakened ties between north china and the central government at having lost the name OF of peking northern capital cap i tal in 1928 when when chinas cainas administrative center was moved south to neiping now finds its present title city of northern peace threatened in national affairs neiping is a stronghold of tradition contrasting with the present chinese capital the northern metropolis has had haa in many any re incarnations as seat of chi nas government under such ro mance freighted names as peking Cam bulac and purple imperial city its mandarin dialect the parisian french of chinese speech comes closer cloger than any other to being generally understood throughout the nation famous marco polo bridge when the boom and rattle ol of heavy guns and rifles disturbed the calm of heip neiping ing i recently newspaper men sent back word that the first clashes were in the neighborhood of the marco polo bridge nine ne miles southwest of the city many foreigners make excursions from neiping to this ancient many arched stone bridge one of the most pie pic tur esque in northern china which spans the muddy yung ting river marco polo bridge was named by foreigners in honor of the venetian adventurer who first described i it t albeit inaccurately to the western world when he came to the orient to I 1 i call upon the fabulous kublai kublal khan |