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KWANGCHOW

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Originally appearing in Volume V15, Page 957 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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KWANGCHOW See also:

BAY' (KWANGCxow WAN), a coaling station on the See also:south See also:coast of See also:China, acquired, along with other See also:con-cessions, by the See also:French See also:government in See also:April i8g8. It is situated on the See also:east See also:side of the See also:peninsula of Lienchow, in the See also:province of Kwangtung, and directly See also:north of the See also:island of See also:Hainan. It is held on See also:lease for 99 years on similar terms to those by which Kiaochow is held by See also:Germany, See also:Port See also:Arthur by See also:Japan and Wei-See also:hai-wei by See also:Great See also:Britain. The cession includes the islands lying in the bay; these enclose a roadstead 18 m. See also:long by 6 in. wide, with admirable natural defences and a See also:depth at no See also:part of less than 33 ft. The bay forms the See also:estuary of the Ma-Ts'e See also:river, navigable by the largest men-of-See also:war for 12 in. from the coast. The limits of the concession inland were fixed in See also:November 1899. On the See also:left See also:bank of the Ma-Ts`e See also:France gained from Kow Chow Fu a See also:strip of territory 11 m. by 6 m., and on the right bank a strip 15 M. by 11 m. from Lei Chow Fu. The See also:country is well populated; the See also:capital and 'See also:chief See also:town is Lei Chow. The cession carries with it full territorial See also:jurisdiction during the continuance of the lease. In See also:January 1900 it was placed under the authority of the See also:governor-See also:general of Indo-China, who in the same See also:month appointed a See also:civil See also:administrator over the country, which was divided into three districts. The See also:population of the territory is about 189,000. A mixed tribunal has been instituted, but the See also:local organization is maintained for purposes of See also:administration.

In addition to the territory acquired, the right has been given to connect the bay by railway with the See also:

city and See also:harbour of Ompon, situated on the See also:west side of the peninsula, and in consequence of difficulties which were offered by the provincial government on the occasion of taking See also:possession, and which compelled the French to have recourse to arms, the latter demanded and obtained exclusive See also:mining rights in the three adjoining prefectures. Two lines of French steamships See also:call at the bay. By See also:reason of the great strategical importance of the bay, and the presence of large See also:coal-beds in the near neighbourhood, much importance is attached by the French to the acquirement of Kwangchow Wan. KWANG-SI, a See also:southern province of China, bounded N. by Kwei-chow and Hu-nan, E. and S. by Kwang-tung, S.W. and W. by French Indo-Chino and Yun-nan. It covers an See also:area of 8o,000 sq. m. It is the least populous province of China, its inhabitants numbering (1908) little over 5,000,000. The Skias, an aboriginal See also:race, See also:form two-thirds of the population. The provincial capital is Kwei-lin Fu, or City of the See also:Forest of See also:Cinnamon Trees, and there are besides ten prefectural cities. The province is largely mountainous. The See also:principal See also:rivers are the Si-kiang and the Kwei-kiang, or Cinnamon River, which takes its rise in the See also:district of Hing-gan, in the north of the province, and in the neighbourhood of that of the Siang river, which flows northward through Hu-nan to the Tungt'See also:ing See also:Lake. The Kwei-kiang, on the other See also:hand, takes a southerly course, and passes the cities of Kwei-lin, Yang-so Hien, Ping-le Fu, Chao-p'ing Hien, and so finds its way to Wu-chow Fu, where it joins the See also:waters of the Si-kiang. Another considerable river is the Liu-kiang, or See also:Willow River, which rises in the mountains inhabited by the Miao-tsze, in Kwei-chow.

Leaving its source it takes a south-easterly direction, and enters Kwang-si, in the district of Hwai-yuen. After encircling thecity of that name, it flows south as far as Liu-ch'eng Hien, where it forms a junction with the See also:

Lung-kiang, or See also:Dragon River. Adopting the trend of this last-named stream, which has its See also:head-waters in Kwei-chow, the mingled flow passes eastward, and farther on in a south-easterly direction, by Lai-chow Fu, Wu-suan Hien, and See also:Sin-chow Fu, where it receives the waters of the Si-kiang, and thenceforth changes its name for that of its affluent. The treaty ports in Kwang-si are See also:Wuchow Fu, Lung-chow and See also:Nanning Fu. KWANG-TUNG, a southern province of China, bounded N. by Hu-nan, Kiang-si and Fu-kien, S. and E. by the See also:sea, and W. by Kwang-si. It contains an area, including the island of Hainan, of 75,500 sq. m., and is divided into nine prefectures; and the population is estimated at about 30,000,000. Its name, which signifies " east of Kwang," is derived, according to See also:Chinese writers, from the fact of its being to the east of the old province of Hu-kwang, in the same way that Kwang-si derives its name from its position to the west of Hu-kwang. Kwang-tung extends for more than 60o m. from east to west, and for about 420 from north to south. It may be described as a hilly region, forming part as it does of the Nan Shan ranges. These mountains, speaking generally, trend in a north-east and south-See also:westerly direction, and are divided by valleys of great fertility. The principal rivers of the province are the Si-kiang, the Pei-kiang, or North River, which rises in the mountains to the north of the province, and after a southerly course joins the Si-kiang at See also:San-shui Hien; the Tung-kiang, or East River, which, after flowing in a south-westerly direction from its source in the north-east of the province, empties itself into the estuary which separates the city of See also:Canton from the sea; and the Han River, which runs a north and south course across the eastern portion of the province, taking its rise in the mountains on the western frontier of Fu-kien and emptying itself into the China Sea in the neighbourhood of See also:Swatow. Kwang-tung is one of the most productive provinces of the See also:empire.

Its See also:

mineral See also:wealth is very considerable, and the See also:soil of the valleys and plains is extremely fertile. The principal See also:article of export is See also:silk, which is produced in the district forming the river See also:delta, extending from Canton to See also:Macao and having its See also:apex at San-shui Hien. Three large coal-See also:fields exist in the province, namely, the Shao-chow Fu See also:field in the north; the Hwa Hien field, distant about 30 M. from Canton; and the west coast field, in the south-west. The last is by far the largest of the three and extends over the districts of Wu-ch'uen, Tien-pai, Yang-kiang, Yang-ch'un, Gan-ping, K'ai-p'ing, 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 See also:kind. See also:Iron ore is found in about twenty different districts, notably in Ts'ing-yuen, Ts'ung-hwa, Lung-men, and Lu-feng. None, however, is exported in its raw See also:state, as all which is produced is manufactured in the province, and principally at See also:Fat-shan, which has been called the See also:Birmingham of China. The Kwang-tung coast abounds with islands, the largest of which is Hainan, which forms part of the prefecture of K`iung-chow Fu. This island extends for about See also:ioo m. 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 See also:plain of some extent. See also:Gold is found in the central part; and See also:sugar, coco-nuts, betel-nuts, birds' nests, and agar agar, or sea See also:vegetable, are among the other products of the island. Canton, Swatow, K'iung-chow (in Hainan), See also:Pakhoi, San-shui are among the treaty ports.

Three ports in the province have been ceded • or leased to See also:

foreign See also:powers—Macao to See also:Portugal, Hong-See also:Kong (with Kowloon) to Great Britain, and Kwangchow to.France.

End of Article: KWANGCHOW

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