Show va 5 ja OW IV t I 1 0 4 e i x 4 aa m R k OF P t C VIP W pumping water for irrigation in inner china four great chinese cities on the yangtze and han rivers prepared by national geographic society washington D C service F THE four chinese cities OF 0 to which the government of the republic moved due to the pressure of the sino jap anese conflict bankow sta stands ads out as the city of most importance because of its excellent communications with canton and hong kong many of the important government activities were moved to this inland port bankow lies about miles up the yangtze Yang tze the city proper sprawls over a wide area of the north bank of the river where the han pours its muddy torrent across the han lies hanlang Han yang and across the mile wide yangtze Yang tze wu chang the latter city is older than bankow for it was flourishing when bankow was a mere fishing hamlet both hanlang and Wu change are now a part of greater bankow with more than a million and a half inhabitants Han kows harbor seethes with activity ungainly junks move about the water manned by expert river men nearly as easily as modern giants of the sea in our busy seaports they range from craft with rotten hulks and gaping holes above the water line to huge high pooped craft adorned with brightly painted carvings and plates that make them look like floating circus wagons small matting covered sam sampans paris dart here and there by the muscle power of perspiring coolies whose families fill the air along the shore with the singsong chatter of the orient it is estimated that native boats ply in and out of han k kow ow and its sister cities meanwhile modern steamboats from lower yangtze points come and go on schedule the bankow bund looks occidental the bankow B bund und stretching along the yangtze for two miles is disconcerting to the traveler seeking purely chinese panoramas tre trees es shade the wide boulevard while the landward side is flanked by modern banks and business buildings that are not unlike those of new york london paris and berlin beyond the bund upstream the roofs of concrete warehouses form a portion of the cites skyline here hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cotton silk tea wood oil beans and many other products of a vast area of china served by the yangtze and han usually are stored awaiting shipment beyond the warehouses begin the foreign concessions the british concession oldest of all was established in 1861 when bankow was opened to foreign trade then in order came the russian the french and the old german concessions each marked by wide streets and modern residences I 1 and shops A native city in the background also seethes wit with h commercial activity to the tune of noises that strain the visitors eardrums some of 0 f the narrow lanes are paved with flagstone while others are mere ruts nevertheless they are the playgrounds of thousands of children and the busy streets of a city which has been called the hub of the universe to the foreigner the pedestrians in their loose fitting clothing resemble pajama clad biad ci citizens eizens on parade but the wearers bearers are by no means ready to retire business in han know is almost a religion and nearly every man seen on the street has to do with the enormous amount of commerce that flows through and past the port if a traveler knows the advertising code in bankow he can loc locate t any type of business by reading le the shapes and colors of the shop signs which project over the narrow thoroughfares ough fares for instance gold use salmon colored boards with green chinese characters druggists boards are gilded black gold red and green are the predominating co colors ors on each sign is a motto and when a store changes hands the sign is valued so somewhat what the same as american good will important governmental departments also were moved to Chang sha and fireworks of 0 Chang sha Chang sha is a city of fireworks fireworks literally and figuratively the fourth of july firecrackers used by the american small boy before the safe and sane fourth was so widely enforced were imported heavily from Chang sha it is the capital of the hilly province of hunan important because it contains enormous coal fields many unworked and because in it to the north of Chang sha is the huge lake turig tung ting hu which acts as a reservoir for the yangtze floods among most interesting sig sights ats are the wheelbarrows that tha t climb stairs some distance ahead of the regulation wheel there is another smaller one in climbing over flagstone steps or bridges the handles of the wheelbarrow wheel barow are lowered until the auxiliary wheel rises above the next higher step then the wheelbarrow which often carries or pounds seesaws see saws from wheel to wheel until the next level stretch of the flagstones flag stones is attained Chang sha is closely linked with new haven conn for there is just OU outside aside the ra rapidly eidly disappearing wall in which the inhabitants once took great pride one of the best known mission schools in china which is contribution to the education of the chinese A large part of hunan is an unworked field of anthracite and bituminous tu coal and at Ping hsiang which is connected with Chang sha by railroad there is one of the mines which furnishes fuel for the great iron works at hanlang Han yang with about inhabitants Chang sha rules a province of 22 million and is one of the cleanest cities in china chung king a busy port is a busy river port lying about 1500 miles upstream from the mouth of the yangtze river it is the chief port and point of entry for the rich province of wan said to contain the natural resource of an empire the far reaching trade of way is conducted entirely by river craft from whose population of half hal f a million is crowded into a small triangle formed by the junction of the dialing river with the yangtze Yang tze fields at the back of the city making the third side of the triangle have gradually become entirely filled with graves of countless generations erat ions this has resulted in hopelessly enclosing the great graat port oi of upon its rocky promontory between the two rivers and making its expansion impossible ancestral graves having heretofore been considered inviolable through the centuries the city has increased in population but without expansion of territory until overcrowding has almost passed belief the city being built on a r rock ock there is no possibility of proper drainage so that ranks high in odors even among chinese communities |