PART II

The Improvement of the Waterway System of Canton

The most important waterway system in South China is the Canton system. Besides this the others are not of much importance and will be dealt with elsewhere with their ports. In dealing with the Canton system of waterways, I have to divide it as follows:

a. The Canton Delta. b. The West River. c. The North River. d. The East River.

a. The Canton Delta

To improve the Canton Delta we have to consider the proposition from three points of view: First, the problem of flood prevention; second, the problem of navigation; and third, the problem of reclamation. Each of these problems affects the others so the solution of one will help that of the others.

First, the problem of flood prevention. The frequent repetition of floods in recent years has wrought great disasters to the people in the neighborhood of Canton. It has destroyed lives by the thousands and property by the millions. The part which suffers most is the country between Canton and Lupao, lying just immediately north of the Canton Delta. This fatal spot is, I think, created by the silting up of the main outlet of the North River immediately below Sainam. On account of this, the North River has to find its outlets through the West River by the short canal at Samshui and through two small streams one from Sainam, and another from Lupao. The former runs in a northeasterly direction and the latter in a southeasterly direction and they join at Kuanyao. From this point, the river takes a northeasterly course as far as Kumli, thence, turning southeast, passes the west suburb of Canton. Since the North River is silted up below Sainam, its channel above that spot is also getting shallower every year. At present the river above Samshui city is only about four or five feet deep. When the North River rises its water generally finds its way into the West River through the Kongkun Canal. But if the West River should rise at the same time, then there would be no outlet for the North River and its water would accumulate until it overflowed its dikes above and below Lupao. This would naturally cause the dikes to break at some point and allow the water to rush out and flood the whole country that is meant to be protected by these dikes. The remedy for the North River is to reopen the main outlet below Sainam and have the whole channel dredged deep from Tsingyuen to the sea. Fortunately, in our improvement of the navigation of the Canton Delta, we have to do the same thing; so this one work will serve two purposes.

The remedy for the West River is that the shallow part just at its junction with the sea between Wangkum and Sanchoo Islands should be trained by walls on both sides--a long one on the left, and a short one on the right--so as to concentrate the current to cut the river bed here to a depth of twenty feet or more. In this way, a uniform depth is secured, for after passing the Moto Entrance the West River has an average depth of 20 to 30 feet right along its whole course through this delta. With a uniform depth all the way to the sea, the undercurrent will run quickly and drain off the flood water more rapidly. Besides the deepening process, both shores should be regulated so as to give a uniform width to the channel. Midstream shoals and islands should be removed.

The East River Valley does not suffer so severely from floods as those of the other two rivers, the West and the North, and its remedy will be provided in the regulation of the river for navigation. This will be dealt with in that connection.

Second, the problem of navigation in the Canton Delta in connection with the three rivers. In dealing with this question we commence with the West River. In former days the traffic between the West River Valley and Canton always passed through Fatshan and Samshui, a distance of about 35 miles. But since the silting up of the Fatshan Channel below Sainam, the traffic has to take a great detour by descending the Pearl River southeastward as far as Fumen, then turn northwest into the Shawan Channel, then southeast into the Tamchow Channel, and then west into the Tailiang Channel and south into the Junction Channel and Maning Reach. Here it enters into the West River and runs a northwesterly direction up to Samshui Junction on this river. The whole journey covers a distance of about 95 miles, which compared with the old route is longer by 60 miles. The traffic between Canton and the West River Valley is very great. At present there are many thousands of steam launches plying between Canton City and the outlying districts, and more than half of that number are carrying traffic to and fro on the West River. Every boat has to run 95 miles on each trip whereas if the channel between Samshui and Canton is improved, the distance would be only 35 miles. What a great saving it will be!

In our project to improve the Canton Approach and Harbor, I suggested the draining of a deep channel from the sea to Whampoa and from Whampoa to Tamchow Channel. We now have to prolong this channel from its Tamchow Junction up to Samshui Junction on the West River. This Channel should be made at least 20 feet deep so as to join the deeper water of the West River above the Samshui Junction. And the same depth should be maintained in the North River itself some distance above Samshui, so as to give facility for the navigation of larger vessels up the river when the whole waterway is improved.

To improve the East River for navigation in the Canton Delta we should concentrate the current of its estuaries into one single outlet by using the right channel which joins the Pearl River at Davids Island, thus deepening the channel as well as shortening the distance between Canton and the East River districts when the upper part of the river is improved.

Another improvement in the Canton Delta for navigation is the opening of a straight canal between Canton City and Kongmoon so as to shorten the passage of the heavy traffic between this metropolis and the Szeyap districts. This canal should begin by straightening the Chanchun Creek south of Canton as far as Tsznai. Then crossing the Tamchow Channel it should enter into the Shuntuck Creek and follow this creek to its end emerging into the Shuntuck Branch at right angles. From there, a new canal must be cut straight to the turn of the Tailiang Channel near Yungki, then the canal should follow this channel through Yellow Reach as far as the Junction Bend. Here another new canal must be cut through to the Hoichow Creek, then it should follow Kuchan Channel to the main channel of the West River, and crossing it enter into the Kongmoon Branch. Thus, a straight canal can be formed between Canton and Kongmoon. In order to understand the improvement of the Canton Delta more clearly see Maps XIV and XV.

Third, the problem of reclamation. A very profitable undertaking in the Canton Delta is the reclamation of new land. This process has been going on for centuries. Many thousands of acres of new land are thus being added to cultivation from year to year. But hitherto all the reclamation has been effected by private enterprise only, and there are no regulations for it. So sometimes this private enterprise causes great detriment to public welfare such as blocking up navigable channels and causing floods. A glaring case is the reclamation work just above the Moto Islands, which blocks more than half of the Main Channel of the West River. In the regulation of the West River, I propose to cut this new land away. In order to protect the public welfare, the reclamation work in this Delta must be taken up by the State and the profits must go to defray the expenses of improving this waterway system for navigation, as well as for the prevention of floods. At present, the area that can be gradually reclaimed is large in extent. On the left side of the Canton Estuary, the available area is about 40 square miles, and on the right side, about 140 square miles. On the estuaries of the West River from Macao to Tongkwa Island, there is an available area of about 200 square miles. Of the 380 square miles, about one fourth would be ready for reclamation within the next ten years. That is to say about 95 square miles could be reclaimed and put to cultivation within a decade. As one square mile contains 640 acres and one acre six mow, so 95 square miles will be equal to 364,800 mow. As cultivated land in this part of China generally costs more than fifty dollars a mow, so, if fifty dollars be taken as the average rate, the value of these 364,800 mow would amount to $18,240,000. This will help a great deal to defray the expenses of improving the waterway for navigation and for preventing floods in this Delta.

b. The West River

The West River is at present navigable for comparatively large river steamers up to Wuchow, a distance of 220 miles by water from Canton, and for small steamers up to Nanning, a distance of 500 miles from Canton, at all seasons. As for small crafts, the West River is navigable in most of its branches, west to the Yunnan frontier, north to Kweichow, northeast to Hunan and the Yangtze Valley by the Shingan Canal.

In improving the West River for navigation I shall divide the work into subsections as follows:

(1) From Samshui to Wuchow.

(2) From Wuchow to the junction of the Liukiang.

(3) Kweikiang or the North Branch of the West River from Wuchow to Kweilin and beyond.

(4) The South Branch from Shunchow to Nanning.

(1) From Samshui to Wuchow. This part of the West River is generally deep and does not need much improvement for vessels up to ten-foot draught excepting at a few points. The midstream rocks should be blasted and removed and sand banks and dilating parts should be regulated by submerged dikes to secure a uniform channel and to make the velocity of the current even, so that a stable fairway could be maintained all the year round. The traffic of this river would be sufficiently great to pay for all the improvements which we propose to make.

(2) From Wuchow to the Junction of the Liukiang. At this junction, a river port should be built to connect the deep navigation from the sea and the shallow navigation of Hungshui Kiang and the Liukiang which penetrate the rich mineral districts of Northwest Kwangsi and Southwest Kweichow. This port will be about fifty miles from Shunchow which is the junction of the Nanning branch of the river. So here, we have only to improve a distance of fifty miles, for the improvement of the river between Shunchow and Wuchow will be included in the plan for the Nanning Port. Dams and locks would be necessary to make this part of the river navigable for ten-foot draught vessels. But these dams at the same time would serve the purpose of producing water power.

(3) Kweikiang or the North Branch of the West River from Wuchow to Kweilin and beyond. As Kweikiang is smaller, shallower and has more rapids along its course, so its improvement will be more difficult than that of the other parts of the waterway. But this will be a very profitable proposition in this Southern waterway project, for this river not only serves the purpose of transportation in this rich territory but will also serve as a passage for through traffic between the Yangtze and the West River valleys. The improvement should commence from the junction at Wuchow up to Kweilin, and thence upward to the Shingan Canal, then downward to the Siang River, and thereby connecting with the Yangtze River. A series of dams and locks should be built for vessels to ascend to the inter-watershed canal and another series should descend on the other side. The expenses of building these two series of dams and locks could not be estimated until accurate surveys are made. But I am sure this project will be a paying one.

(4) From Shunchow to Nanning. This portion of the Yuhkiang is navigable for small steamers up to Nanning, the center of commerce in South Kwangsi. From Nanning small crafts can navigate through the Yuhkiang as far as the east border of Yunnan, and through Tsokiang as far as the north border of Tongking. If this waterway be improved up to Nanning, then it would be the nearest deep river port for the rich mineral districts of the whole southwest corner of China, which includes the whole province of Yunnan, a greater part of Kweichow and half of Kwangsi. The immediate neighborhood of Nanning is also very rich in minerals, such as antimony, tin, iron, coal and also in agricultural products. So to make Nanning the head of a deep water communication system will be a paying proposition. To improve the waterway up to Nanning, a few dams and locks along its course will have to be built for vessels of ten-foot draught to go up as well as for water power. The expense for this work cannot be estimated without detailed surveys but it would probably be much less than the improvement of Kweikiang from Wuchow to the Shingan Canal.