Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/654

chuen, Teen-pih, Yang-keang, Yang-chuen, Gan-ping, Kae-ping, Sin-hing, Ho-shan, Sin-hwang and Sin-ning. The coal from the two first named fields is of an inferior quality, but that in the west coast field is of a more valuable kind. Iron ore is found in about twenty different districts, notably in Tsing-yuen, Tsung-fa, Lung-mun, and Luh-fung. None, however, is exported in its raw state, as all which is produced is manufactured in the province, and principally at Fat-shun, which has been called the Birmingham of China. The Kwang-tung coast abounds with islands, the largest of which is Hainan, which forms part of the prefecture of Keung-chow Foo. This island extends for about 100 miles from north to south, and the same distance from east to west. The southern and eastern portions of Hainan are mountainous, but on the north there is a plain of some extent. Gold is found in the central part; and sugar, cocoa nuts, betel nuts, birds' nests, and agar agar, or sea vegetable, are among the other products of the island. By the terms of the treaty Keung-chow Foo on the north coast was to be a Treaty Port, and it is now about to be opened to trade. In the province of Kwang-tung there are two Treaty Ports, namely, Canton and Swatow. At Canton the value of the exports carried in foreign vessels during the year 1874 amounted to £4,672,128, and of imports to £1,985,701. The value of the imports to Swatow during the same period was £3,317,297, and of the exports £1,310,321.

The province of Kwang-se is bounded on the N. by Kwei-chow and Hoo-nan, on the E. by Kwang-tung, on the S. by the Gulf of Tonquin and Cochin-china, and on the W. by Yun-nan. It covers an area of 78,250 square miles, and its population is estimated at 7,313,895. The provincial capital is Kwei-ling Foo, or City of the Forest of Cinnamon Trees, and there are besides ten prefectural cities. In the south and east parts of the province the surface is mountainous, but in the north the mountains are exchanged for hills and plains. The principal rivers are the Se-keang, the course of which has been described above, and the Kwei-keang, or Cinnamon River, which takes its rise in the district of Hing-gan, in the north of the province, and in the neighbourhood of that of the Seang River, which flows northward through Hoo-nan to the Tung-ting Lake. The Kwei-keang, on the other hand, takes a southerly course, and passes the cities of Kwei-lin, Yang-so Heen, Ping-lŏ Foo, Chaou-ping Heen, and so finds its way to Woo-chow Foo, where it joins the waters of the Se-Keang. Another considerable river is the Lew-Keang, or Willow River, which rises in the mountains inhabited by the Meaou-tsze, in the district of Yung-tsung, in Kwei-chow. Leaving its source it takes a south-easterly direction, and enters Kwang-se, in the district of Hwae-yuen. After encircling the city of that name, it flows south as far as Lew-ching Heen, where it forms a junction with the Lung-keang, or Dragon River. Adopting the trend of this last-named stream, which has its head-waters in Yun-nan, the mingled flow passes eastward, and further on in a south-easterly direction, by Lew-chow Foo, Woo-seuen Heen, and Sin-chow Foo, where it receives the waters of the Se-keang, and thenceforth changes its name for that of its affluent.

The province of Kwei-chow is bounded on the N. by Sze-chuen, on the E. by Hoonan, on the S. by Kwang-se, and on the W. by Yun-nan. It contains 64,554 square miles, and has a population of about 5,288,219. Kwei-yang Foo is the provincial capital, and besides this there are eleven prefectural cities in the province. With the exception of plains in the neighbourhood of Kwei-yang Foo, Ta-ling Foo, and Tsun-e Foo, in the central and northern regions, the province may be described as mountainous. But the very disturbed state in which it has been for many years makes it difficult to gain much information about it. The mountain ranges in the south are largely inhabited by Meaou-tsze, who are the original owners of the soil, and who have been goaded into a state of rebellion by the oppression to which they have been subjected by the Chinese officials. To this disturbing cause has been added also another by the spread of the Mahometan rebellion of Yun-nan into some of the south-western districts of the province. The devastating effects of these civil wars have been most disastrous to the trade and the prosperity of Kwei-chow. The climate is by nature unhealthy, the supply of running water being small, and that of stagnant water, from which arises a very fatal malaria, being considerable; but it is at the present time rendered still more dangerous by the number of corpses which are left to putrefy in the fields. The agricultural products of the province are very limited, and its chief wealth lies in its minerals. Copper, silver, lead, and zinc are found in considerable quantities, and as regards quicksilver, Kwei-chow is probably the richest country in the world. It has been from of old the chief product of the province, and the belt in which it occurs extends through the whole province from south-west to north-east. One of the principal mining districts is Kae Chow, in the prefecture of Kwei-yang Foo, and this district has the advantage of being situated near Wang-ping Chow, from which place it can be conveniently and cheaply shipped to Hankow. Cinnabar, realgar, orpiment, and coal form the rest of the mineral products of Kwei-chow. Wild silk is another valuable article of export. It is chiefly manufactured in the prefecture of Tsun-e Foo, where three kinds are produced. The first quality, the trade in which is estimated at about 500,000 taels a year, is chiefly exported to Shen-se, Shan-se, and Peking, while some finds its way to Seang-tan and so into Kwang-se. The inferior kinds are locally consumed.

The province of Yun-nan, “South of the Clouds,” is bounded on the N. by Sze-chuen, on the E. by Kwei-chow and Kwang-se, on the S. by Burmah and the Lao tribes, and on the W. by Burmah and Tibet. It occupies an area of 107,969 square miles, but though thus the second largest province of the empire, its population is estimated at only 5,561,320, and probably this number is at the present time, in consequence of the long continuance and violent extinction of the Panthay rebellion, excessive. The greater part of the province may be said to consist of an extensive plateau, containing numerous valley plains, which is divided in the northern portion by mountain ranges that enter at the north-west corner of the province and separate the waters of the Kin-sha-keang, the Meikon, and the Salwein. Besides Yun-nan Foo, the capital, the province contains twenty prefectural cities, several of which—Tung-chuen Foo, Yun-nan Foo, Ta-le Foo, Yung-chang Foo, Tsoo-heung Foo, and Ling-gan Foo, for example—are situated in the valley plains just spoken of. The principal rivers are the Meikon, which traverses the province from north to south on its way to the China Sea through Anam; the Salwein, which runs a parallel course through its western portion; the Kin-sha-keang, which runs first in a south-east and then in an easterly direction through the north of the province; and the headwaters of the Songka, which takes its rise in the south-eastern part of the province. This last-named river forms a navigable communication from Yun-nan to the Gulf of Tong-king where it empties itself into the sea. The navigation commences at Man-haou, a town only ten days’ journey from Yun-nan Foo, and it thus affords an easy outlet for the mining districts of eastern and southern Yun-nan. There are two large lakes in the province,—one in the neighbourhood of Ta-le Foo, which is 24 miles in length by 6 miles in breadth, and the other