New Britain herald., 1930-09-26
HANK0W IS LIKE
 C. " o J. 5. METROPOLIS
Resembles New York, Is Really Composed of Three Cities

Washington, D. C., Sept. 26 - Hankow, an armed camp because of the constant recent threat of inva- sion by armies of Chinese com munists, is one of China's most im- portant cities, ranking commercial ly as the busiest of the interior trade centers of the republic, ac- cording to bulletin from the Washington, D. c headquarters of the National Geographic Society. ! While Shanghai can be identified as "China's New York Hankow, can, with good cause. be consider ed the Celestial republics New Or leans, Pittsburgh, and Chicago roll eG into one" continues the bulle- tin. Although 600 miles inland the city, thanks to the great Yangtze .hiang, is, like New Orleans, a port foI ocean steamers. China's great est steel and iron mills are located tkere: and the city is the assembling point and shipping ceIser for tre- loendous quantities of produce from the farms and gardens and groves Of China, and of ores from her mines.
 Three Cities in One
 Tn it's purely local geography, Hankow can be compared to New York. It consists of three cities grouped across the water from each other like New York, Brooklyn and Iesey City The group is situated where the narrow Han river meets the broad Yangtze, which is two miles across at this point. Hankow proper, by far the largest of the three communities lies in a triangle between the left bank of the Han and the left bank of the Yangtze. Across the Han is Hanyang. where the tall chimneys of great steel mills pour out an incessant stream of smoke. Across the Yangtze from both is Wuchang, capital of Hupeh province, and for ages an important political center. Together the three closely associated cities have Population of one and a half million people, with close to a million of the total in Hankow. The group is often referred to as the Wu-Han Cities
 [. "Hankow's best aspect is pre,ent- ed to the traveller who approaches the city by river steamer from down stream. For more than two miles the international Bund stretches along the north bank of the river r. is broad boulevard, paved shad- ed by rows of trees. and faced on the land side by group after goup of imposing buildings. In the dis tance can be seen the extensive con- crete 'godowns' (warehouses) in which hundreds of thousands ot dollars worth of cotton, silk, tea, wood-oil, beans. and dozens of other commodities are stored for ship rnent.
 Concessions Make Up City
 "Farthest up stream. adjoining the native city, is the British con cession which was the first unit Of the International city It was es- tablished in 1861 when Hankow was first opened 10 foreign trade. It ex- tends for half mile along the river and is joined by the Russian con- cession which dates from 1896. Next lies the French concessian es- tablished the same year, and beyond 1t the former Geman concession. now taken over by the Chinese. Farthest down stream is the Japan ese concession set apat in 1898. There is no separate American set tlement. The consulate of the United States and that of Denmark are ;n the French concession. In the Brit ish area are the Spanish. Dutch and Belgian consulates. The Italian, Swedish, and Norwegian consulates are in the former German territory. The concessions are marked by relatively broad, well-kept streets and by the handsome buildings that house the legation offices, hotels. banks and shops. Modern water and sewer systems and electric lighting have been installed. These improv- ed conditions have attracted tens of thousands of well-to-do Chinese families to take up their residence R the concessions.
 "The native city of Hankow pre- sents marked contrast 10 the con. sessions. Houses and novels ar" crowded along narrow streets do Void of sanitation, and the populaco are dependent on water from the Yangtze, much of it carried in pails by coolies The city was practically destroyed by fire in 1911 during the revolution which overthrow the en- pire and established tho republic. It was hoped that the city could be rf built along modern lines with wide streets. but instead the old tangle of alleys and crooked streets lined by haphazard structures sprang lip. so that congestion is even worse than before.
 "China'S deDc Di1Crce on man