C. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CHINA PROPER

Province 6: Gan-hwuy [Anhui]

The province of Gan-hwuy "Peace and Plenty," is bounded on the N. by Ho-nan, on the E. by Keang-soo and Che-keang, on the S. by Keang-se, and on the W. by hoo-pih and Ho-nan. It covers an area of 48,461 square miles, and contains a population of 34,108,059 souls. Its principal city is Gan-king on the Ynag-tsze Keang, besides which it numbers seven prefectural cities. The southern half of the province, that portion south of the Yang-tsze Keang, forms part of the Nan-shan, or hilly belt of the south-eastern provinces, and produces, besides cotton and iron ore, large quantities of green tea. Gan-hwuy is one of the most productive provinces of China. Over the whole of its southern portion tea is largely grown, notably in the districts of Hwuy-chow Foo, Tung-lew, Ta-tung, and Woo-hoo. Speaking of this part Baron von Richthofen says, "The exuberant fertility of the soil in the lower portions of the province is not excelled by anything I have seen in temperate climates. No expense has, therefore, been spared in protecting the lowlands by embankments, and introducing a perfect system of irrigation. Both deserve the highest admiration. On the King River I have walked for miles through fields of hemp the stalks of which were from 11 to 13 feet high. Cotton, too is raised in large quantities." The Shun-gan Keang is the principal river of the province, and is of great importance for foreign commernce, supplying as it does direct water communication between some of the principal tea-growing districts and the neighbourhood of Hang-chow.






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