Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-11
China Proper as Large as Europe
West of Russia.
DIVIDED INTO Two PARTS BY RIVER
Shantung Regarded as One Of
Most Favored Provinces.
COAL AND IRON DEPOSITS

When it is taken into consideration, says
a recent visitor to and writer on China,
that China proper extends over an area
as large Europe west Of the Russian
frontiers, 1t will readily be understood that
there are as many diversities among the In
habitants as may be found in the countries
of other nations. China proper Is divided
into two portions by the great Yangtse
river. the basin of which. although 1t con-
tains an enormous area. is generally looked
upon-in addition to the province of Yum
nan. which forms the eastern boundary of
Burmah-as constituting the British sphere
of influence.
The metropolitan province of Chill.
which Is situated within the grasp of Rus
STA at the extreme northeast of China
proper, is about five times as large as Bel
GUM. In spite of the mountain ranges
which more or less cover the northern
half of the province, Chill is easily Access
sibie from the Monaghan side. Whatever
protection the great wall may have af-
forded when China possessed better mill
tary organization, and modern ornaments
did not exist to upset the antiquated tao
tics of the Chinese generals it is now in
the absence of proper fortitcations. of
use whatever for defensive purposes.
1t is remarkable that the imperial city
should have been singled out as the scene
OF the most deteSted western Innovations
In 1897 a railway was opened from Tien
Tsin to the capital. a distance of seventy
three miles; and line has also been con-
stIucted between the latter and Paoting.
The railway which formerly existed be-
tween Tongku and the kaiping coal mines
has been extended. under the supervision
OF English engineers, for a distance of 800
miles in the direction of Manchuria. These
are the only railways which are at the
present moment open to traffic in China;
and all of them have been laid down within
the boundaries of Chilli. Pekn has been
more often described than any other east
ern city. Like most great towns elsewhere,
1t presents strong contrasts of luxurious
wealth and miserable poverty. When the
capital was visited by Lord Mccartney in
1913 the number of the inhabitants was
TINA ted at 100000. but it is not supposed
to contain now more than 100000 SOOOO.
The magnificence and beauty of the city
are remarkable: but the picturesque bat
Elements would be of little avail against
modern weapons. in spite of cardboard can
non and plentiful supply of bows and
arrows.
4 Favored Province.
One of the most favored Of the Chinese
provinces is Shantung. 1t not only COM
prises fertile and thickly populated por-
uon of the great plain which forms a broad
belt from the mountainous district north of
Pekin to the Yangtse basin In the south,
but Is extraordinarily rich in mineral pro-
ducts. Splendid coal fields exist throughout
the province, and several pits in active
operation supply the neighboring towns
with fuel of the best possible quality.
There is also an immense quantity of iron
ore, which has not been touched by the
native inhabitants. the me 1t of expoltati ton
having been left to German enterprise. In
addition to furnishing agriculture, great
deal of silk is produced in Shantung. The
population is most intelligent and highly
civilized. The men are thin and wlry. and
have supplied the Chinese navy with many
of its best recruits They have acquired a
great reputation for morality, and are gen.
orally well-disposed toward strangers,
which makes travelling in Shantung under
ordinary circumstances particularly pleas
ant \ special interest attaches to this
province. for il was down in the plains of
Shantung that ConfuCius labored in the in
tereSts of humanity. and achieved such
marvellous results for the moral welfare Of
lis fellow countrymen. His descendants.
upon whom has been conferred the rare
honor of hereditary title. are still living
twenty-four centuries after the death of
their great ancestor-at the place of his
birth.
Land of Coal and Iron.
Shansi has been called the land OF coal
and iron. Its wealth of coal in particular is
SO enormous that experts have declared
that the resources of Shansi could supply
the whole world for thousands of years at
the present rate Of consumption. For many
ing provinces with coal and iron. and If the
Chinese should be transformed into an in
duStrlal nation at the instigaton Of Euro
pean advisers the Increased demand for the
latter material could be met in great part
by this district alone. The inhabitants en-
joy a great reputation. not only as being
extremely enterprising and INDUSTRIOUS but
for their peculiar commercial ability The
banks OF ShanSi famous throughout
China, and possess their branches in almost
every part of the empire. 1t Is said that
the Shansi bankers have complete command
of the money market in China
Education in China is universal and most
Oh the mercantile houses in the towns of
northern China are supplied by this prov
lnce with clerks and accountants. The
preference for the commercial pursuits has
on the other hand, entirely crushed any
military spirit; the people are unxarlike
and welded so firmly to their peaceful pur-
suits that few of them care to enter for
the public examinations and compete for
the generally coveted distinction of the
mandarinate.
In the Wei valley lies the old imperial
capital Singan-fu. 1t numbers at the pres
ent day million of inhabitants and forms
an important political and commercial CEN
ter Tor the northwest of China. The north
ern portion of the province. which is sep
arated from the southern half by broad
belt OF high mountains is widely different
in character. Although the soil possesses
much less fertility than in the south there
is considerable wealth in coal Communf-
province is. however, extremely difficult on
account of the formidable nature of the
Tsin-iing passes-a contingency which saved
the Wei valley from devastation during
the Mohammedan rebellion which ragged in
kansu and in, the northern half of Shensi
from 1862 to 1871.
A Commercial Highway.
The strategical Importance of the prov
ince of kansu Is very considerable its posi-
ton at the extreme northwest corner of
China proper having made 1t the CONNER
cial highway for traffic passing to and
from central Asia. Kansu contains the
largest area of any of the eighteen prov
inces being more than double the size of
the united kingdom. The tobacco and
opium grown in Kansu are much priced
by the Chinese. and certain products of
the mountainous districts have attained a
considerable celebrity in other parts of the
empire. Hangchow. in the province of
kwangtung. Is considered to be one of the
finest cities in the Chinese empire, but 1t
has long lost the Importance it possessed
some centuries ago. and the ravages caused
by the TAPPING rebellion have materially
reduced the number of its inhabitants. 1t
forms the terminus Of the grand canal
which connects the civ yvfth Tion rr,to