C. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CHINA PROPER

Province 7: Keang-se [Jiangxi]

The province of Keang-se is bounded on the N. by Hoo-pih and Gan-hwuy, on the S. by Kwang-tung, on the E. by Fuh-keen, and on the W. by Hoo-nan. It extends over an area of 72,176 square miles, and its populations by the last census was returned as being 19,000,000. It is divided into fourteen prefectures, and the provincial capital is Nan-chang Foo, a city situated on the Kea Keang, about 35 miles from the Po-yang Lake, into which the river empties itself. The whole province is mountainous, being traversed in a south-westerly and north-easterly direction by the Nan-shan ranges. The largest river is the Kea Keang, which rises in the mountains in the south of the province and flows westward into the Po-yang Lake as mentioned above. During the summer time it has water of sufficient depth for steamers of light draught as far as Nan-chang, and it is navigable by native craft for a considerable distance beyond that city. Another river of note is the Chang Keang, which has its source in the province of gan-hwuy, and flows into the Po-yang Lake, connecting in its course the Woo-yuen district, from whence come the celebrated "Moyune," green teas, and the city of King-tih-chin, celebrated for its pottery, with Jaou-chou Foo on the lake. The black "Kaisow" teas are brought from the Ho-kow district, where they are grown, down the River Kin to Juy-hung on the lake, and the Sew-ho connects by a navigable stream E-ning Chow, in the neighbourhood of which city the best black teas of this part of china are produced, with Woo-ching, the principal mart of trade on the lake. The principal productions of the province are tea (of which 32,733,053 lb were exported in 1874), China ware, grass cloth, hemp, paper, tobacco, and tallow. Kew-keang, the Treaty Port of the province, is situated on the Yang-tsze keang, a short distance above the junction of the Po-yang Lake with that river. According to the foreign trade returns for this port for the year 1874, it appears that the value of the imports was £1,179,895, 5s., and that of the exports, £2,976,503 14s.






Read the rest of this article:
China - Table of Contents