Chinkiang is situated at the junction of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze. It was an important center of inland water traffic between the north and the south before the steam age. But it will resume its former grandeur and become more important when the old inland waterway is improved, and new ones are constructed. For it is the gateway between the Hoangho and Yangtze valleys. Besides, by the southern portion of the Grand Canal, Chinkiang is connected with the Tsientang valley—the richest part of China. Thus, this city is bound to grow into a great commercial center in the near future.
In our regulation work of the Yangtze, we shall add a piece of new land, over six square miles, in front of Chinkiang. This land on the south side of the river will be utilized for city-planning for our new Chinkiang. On the north side, land should also be taken up by the state to build another city. The north side will be bound to outgrow that of the south for the whole of Hoangho Valley could only emerge into the Yangtze by waterway through this point. Docks should be built between here and Yangchow for accommodation of inland vessels, and modern facilities should be provided for transhipment between inland vessels and ocean-going steamers. This port should be made as a distributing center as well as a collecting center for the salt of the eastern coast. This, with the help of modern methods, will reduce transportation expenses. Stone or concrete bunds or quays should be built on both sides of the river and tidal jetties should be provided for train ferries. In time, when commerce grows, tunnels or bridges may be added to facilitate traffic of the two sides. The streets should be wide so as to meet modern demands. The water front and its neighborhood should be planned for industrial and commercial uses and the land beyond should be planned for residential purpose. Every modern public utility should be provided. In regard to the details of planning the city, I must leave them to the expert.
b. Nanking and Pukow
Nanking was the old capital of China before Peking, and is situated in a fine locality which comprises high mountains, deep water and a vast level plain—a rare site to be found in any part of the world. It also lies at the center of a very rich country on both sides of the lower Yangtze. At present, although ruined and desolate, it still has a population of over a quarter of a million. Once it was the home of many industries especially silk and now the finest satin and velvet are still produced here. Nanking has yet a greater future before her when the resources of the lower Yangtze Valley are properly developed.
In the regulation of the Yangtze I propose to cut away the town of Hsiakwan, so that the wharf of Nanking could be removed into the deep channel between Metsechow and the outskirt of Nanking. This channel should be blocked up, thereby a wet dock could be formed to accommodate all ocean-going vessels. This point is much nearer the inhabited parts of the city than Hsiakwan. And the land between this projected wet dock and the city could form a new commercial and industrial quarter which would be many times larger than Hsiakwan. Metsechow in time, when commerce grows, may also be developed into city lots and business quarters. For the future development of Nanking the land within and without the city should be taken up at the present price under the same principle which I have proposed for the Projected Port at Chapu.
Pukow, opposite Nanking, on the other side of the river, will be the great terminus of all the railways of the great northern plain to the Yangtze. It will be the nearest river port for the rich coal and iron fields of Shansi and Honan, giving access to the lower Yangtze district and hence to the sea. As the great transcontinental trunk line to the sea whether terminating at Shanghai or at our Projected Port, would pass through this point, the construction of a tunnel under the Yangtze to connect Nanking and Pukow by rail at the same time when the cities are being constructed, will not be at all premature. This will at once make possible a through train journey from Shanghai to Peking.
Concrete or stone embankment should be built along the shore above and below the present Pukow point many miles in each direction. Modern streets should be laid out on the land within the embankment so as to be ready for various building purposes. The land on the north side of the river should be taken up by the state for public uses of this international development scheme on the same basis as at our Projected Ports.
c. Wuhu
Wuhu is a town of 120,000 inhabitants and is the center of the rice trade in the lower part of the Yangtze. It is at this point that I propose to make an intake of the water which will go to flush the Whangpoo River at Shanghai, and which will form the upper end of a canal to the sea at Chapu. In the regulating work of the Yangtze the concave part above the junction of the Yangki Ho has to be filled up and the convex part of the opposite side has to be cut away. The junction of the projected canal and the river will be at about a mile or so below the Lukiang junction. The projected canal will run northeast to a point between the southeast corner of Wuhu city and the foot of the hill. There it joins the Yangki Ho and, following the course as far as Paichiatien, branches off in the northeastern direction. This gives Wuhu a southeast waterfront along the left side of the canal. New bunds should be built along both sides of the canal as well as alongside the Yangtze and at the junction of the canal docks for inland vessels should be constructed with modern plants for transhipment of goods. Wide streets should be laid out from the Bund of the Yangtze far into the inland following the direction of the canal. The bund alongside the Yangtze should be reserved for commercial purposes and those alongside the canal for factories. Wuhu is in the midst of a rich iron and coal field, so it will surely become an industrial center when this iron and coal field is properly developed. Cheap materials, cheap labor, and cheap foodstuffs are abundant at the spot waiting for modern science and machinery to turn them into greater wealth for the benefit of mankind.