1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Hai-phong

HAI-PHONG, a seaport of Tongking, French Indo-China, on the Cua-Cam, a branch of the Song-koi (Red river) delta. The population numbers between 21,000 and 22,000, of whom 12,500 are Annamese, 7500 Chinese (attracted by the rice trade of the port) and 1200 Europeans. It is situated about 20 m. from the Gulf of Tongking and 58 m. E. by S. of Hanoi, with which it communicates by river and canal and by railway. It is the second commercial port of French Indo-China, is a naval station, and has government and private ship-building yards. The harbour is accessible at all times to vessels drawing 19 to 20 ft., but is obstructed by a bar. Hai-phong is the seat of a resident who performs the functions of mayor, and the residency is the chief building of the town. A civil tribunal, a tribunal of commerce and a branch of the Bank of Indo-China are also among its institutions. It is the headquarters of the river steamboat service (Messageries fluviales) of Tongking, which plies as far as Lao-kay on the Song-koi, to the other chief towns of Tongking and northern Annam, and also to Hong-kong. Cotton-spinning and the manufacture of cement are carried on.