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.
