Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-12-19
Geographic News
Bulletins by the
National Geographic Society
ABOUT TsINGTAo

The REIMBURSEMENT of Tsingtao
and the kiaochow leasehold by
Japan on December 10 and its sub
sequent troubles with Chinese. ban
dts, mark the passing of one dream
Of japanese expansion in the howery
kingdom, just as the surrender of
the same territory to Japan almost
exactly eight years ago marked the
tragic end of the dream of German
Imperialism in the country" re-
marks a bulletin from the Washing
ton, d. c., headquarters Of the Ma
tional Geographic Society.
This 200-square-mile slice OF
famous old Shantung," continues
the bulletin, for millenniums had
little in its lot to distinguish 1t from
similar sleepy patches Of China's
coast country. Suddenly it awoke
tw%enty-four years ago with the
1t. 1t has been in the glare ever
since; the bone of contention of en-
pires. and an object for powerful If
immaterial diplomatic forces and ul-
timatums, when 1t was not the tar
get for all too material naval guns
and their high explosive shells.
Snatched From Shabbiness to
Prosperity
"Tsingtao, the port of Kiaochow
leasehold, has been q veritable Gin
derella among Oriental communities
and to mix the metaphor. a
chameleon nationally. Snatched
from its existence a a shabby fish
ing village, it was made q tspotless
town. to serve first as a gateway
and later as an entrepot for jap
anese influence and goods.
when Germany decided to COM
pete with other European nations
that were taking possession of slices
OF Chinese territory. and landed her
forces at Tsingtao In 1898, it o.
sisted of little more than a narrow
street lined by low Chinese buildings
with papa windows and straw roofs.
One of the few groups of buildings
of any consequence was the sYamen'
with its central structures, its court
yards and surrounding houses.
These the Germans took over for
the HEADQUARTERS of their governor.
"Once On the ground the Germans
worked feverishly at making over
the village and constructing the
combination of Little Berlin and
German Hongkong," of which they
dreamed. Chinese houses were
tdkSu over anu HiduS CledH, duu
temporary barracks were built, fol-
lowed by permanent ones. Wide
streets and were laid out
and lined with shade trees, substan-
tlal business buildings and resi-
dences rose. Drainage systems
were established and other sanitary
measures taken, AMI a supply OF
rure water was piped from the hills.
Massive granite breakwaters and
piers were constructed; the harbor
was dredged to \ depth to ccom
modate the largest ships. A huge
dock, capable of accommo-
dating merchantmen or warship,
provided the finishing touch which
made the once sleepy little Tsingtae
mo a f~ull-fiedeed commercial and
naval base and outposts of empire.
by the outbreak of the world
war Tsingtao represented a brilliant
result of German efficiency Sixty
million dollars had been spent in the
transformation. An excellent rail-
road tapped the interior of Shan
tung, mines were being opened and
shipping was steadily increasing. OF
more than 1900 shop
keepers, professional men and other
civilians, in addition to the military,
with considerable justifica-
ton that it was a paradise on
Even the surrounding hills,
previously denuded, had been re-
Planted to forest. Good German
schools were established. The ex-
bathing beach had been cap
by the building of hotels
and the place was fast becoming a
dents in China.
From 'Little Berlin" to Little
Tokyo"
1.-THE character Of this most Ger
OF towns was changed n 1914,
as radically and as quickly
as a motion picture setting is trans
from a representation of
to one of New York. The
German flag came down in Novem-
Der and most of the Germans were
sent to Japan as prisoners. Civilian
as well as soldiers poured
in; and while the architecture OF
Little Berlin remained for the
part unaltered, the whole at
mosphere of the place became that
of Japan. On their part the Jap
snese displayed greater energy even
than had the. Germans. to give the
city its second Transformation.
There, amid the incongruous Ger
man buildings, blossomed the in
and culture of Nippon. In
iced the Japanese were more
t borough than their predecessors.
BY the middle Of 1920 mora than
$4,000 Japanese had moved to the
,ity. Schools had been established
for teaching Chinese to the newcom-
ars, as well as the regular system of
lower and higher Japanese public
Commerce through the
port grew amazingly. most Of the
Of course flying the Japanese
nag.
"Tsingtoa is remote from Amer
lea, but through commerce it has
Its contacts with this country.
When you see a suit of Shantung
silk on a summer day, the chances
are high that the fabric took ship
1T Tsingtao, and tons of the almost
invisible hair nets that hold Amer
ica's unbobbed feminine tresses in
place also start their sea journey at
this German-Japanese port which
in name now becomes Chinese"