To improve the East River for navigation as well as for flood prevention, I propose to start the work at the lower point of Davids Island as stated in the improvement of the Canton Approach. From here, a deep channel should be dredged up to Suntang, and a mile above that point a new channel should be opened in the direction of Tungkun city, by connecting the various arms of water between these two places and joining the left branch of the East River immediately above Tungkun city. All other channels leading from this new channel to the Pearl River should be closed up to normal water level so as to make these closed-up channels serve as flood outlets in rainy seasons. Thus by blocking up the rest of the estuaries of the East River, all the water would form one strong current which would dredge the river bottom deeper, and maintain the depth permanently. The body of the river should be trained to a uniform width right along its course up to tidal point, and above this point, the river should be narrowed in proportion to its volume of water. Thus the whole river would dredge itself deep far up above Waichow city. The railway bridge at the south side of Shelung should be made a turning bridge so as to permit large steamers to pass through it. Some sharp turns of the river should be reduced to gentle curves and midstream obstacles should be removed. The portion of the river above Waichow should be provided with dams and locks so as to enable ten-foot draught vessels to ascend as near as possible to the iron and coal fields in the valley.

PART III
The Construction of the Southwestern Railway System of China

The southwestern part of China comprises Szechwan, the largest and richest province of China Proper, Yunnan, the second largest province, Kwangsi and Kweichow which are rich in mineral resources, and a part of Hunan and Kwangtung. It has an area of 600,000 square miles, and a population of over 100,000,000. This large and populous part of China is almost untouched by railways, except a French line of narrow gauge from Laokay to Yunnanfu, covering a distance of 290 miles.

There are great possibilities for railway development in this part of the country. A network of lines should radiate fan-like from Canton as pivot to connect every important city and rich mineral field with the Great Southern Port. The construction of railways in this part of China is not only needed for the development of Canton but also is essential for the prosperity of all the southwestern provinces. With the construction of railways rich mines of various kinds could be developed and cities and towns could be built along the lines. Developed lands are still very cheap and undeveloped lands and those with mining possibilities cost almost next to nothing even though not state owned. So if all the future city sites and mining lands be taken up by the government before railway construction is started, the profit would be enormous. Thus no matter how large a sum is invested in railway construction, the payment of its interest and principal will be assured. Besides, the development of Canton as a world port is entirely dependent upon this system of railways. If there be no such network of railway traversing the length and breadth of the southwestern section of China, Canton could not be developed up to our expectations.

The southwestern section of China is very mountainous, except the Canton and Chengtu plains, which have an area of from 3,000 to 4,000 square miles each. The rest of the country is made up almost entirely of hills and valleys with more or less open space here and there. The mountains in the eastern part of this section are seldom over 3,000 feet high but those near the Tibetan frontier generally have an altitude of 10,000 feet or more. The engineering difficulties in building these railways are much greater than those of the northwestern plain. Many tunnels and loops will have to be constructed and so the construction costs of the railway per mile will be greater than in other parts of China.

With Canton as the terminus of this system of railroads, I propose that the following lines be constructed:

a. The Canton-Chungking Line via Hunan

This line will start from Canton and follow the same direction as the Canton-Hankow line as far as the junction of the Linkiang with the North River. From that point the railroad turns into the valley of Linkiang, and follows the course of the river upward above the city of Linchow. There it crosses the watershed between the Linkiang and the Taokiang and proceeds to Taochow, Hunan. Thence it follows the Taokiang to Yungchow, Paoking, Sinhwa, and Shenchow, and up to Peiho across the boundary of Hunan into Szechwan by Yuyang. From Yuyang the line proceeds across the mountain to Nanchuen, thence to Chungking after crossing the Yangtze. This railway which has a total length of about 900 miles passes through a rich mineral and agricultural country. In the Linchow district north of Kwangtung, rich coal, antimony, and wolfram deposits are found; in southwestern Hunan, tin, antimony, coal, iron, copper and silver; and at Yuyang, east of Szechwan, antimony and quicksilver. Among agricultural products found along this line we may mention sugar, groundnuts, hemp, tung oil, tea, cotton, tobacco, silk, grains, etc. There is also an abundance of timber, bamboo and various kinds of forest products.