PART IV

The Construction of Canals to connect the Inland Waterway Systems of North and Central China with the Great Northern Port

This scheme will include the regulation of the Hoangho and its branches, the Weiho in Shensi, and the Fenho in Shansi and connecting canals. The Hoangho should be deepened at its mouth in order to give a good drawing to clear its bed of silt and carry the same to the sea. For this purpose, jetties should be built far out to the deep sea, as those at the mouths of the Mississippi in America. Its embankments should be parallel in order to make the width of the channel equal right along, so as to give equal velocity to the current which will prevent the deposit of silt at the bottom. By dams and locks, it could be made navigable right up to Lanchow, in the province of Kansu, and at the same time water power could be developed. The Weiho and the Fenho can also be treated in the same manner so as to make them navigable to a great extent in the provinces of Shensi and Shansi. Thus the provinces of Kansu, Shensi, and Shansi can be connected by waterway with our projected port on the Gulf of Pechili, so that cheap carriage can be provided for the rich mineral and other products from these three hitherto secluded provinces.

The expenses of regulating the Hoangho may be very great. As a paying project, it may not be very attractive but as a flood preventive measure, it is the most important task to the whole nation. This river has been known as "China's Sorrow" for thousands of years. By its occasional overflow and bursting of its embankments, millions of lives and billions of money have been destroyed. It is a constant source of anxiety in the minds of all China's statesmen from time immemorial. A permanent safeguard must be effected, once for all, despite the expenses that will be incurred. The whole nation must bear the burden of its expenses. To deepen its mouth, to regulate its embankments and to build extra dykes are only half of the work to prevent flood. The entire reforestation of its watershed to prevent the washing off of loess is another half of the work in the prevention of flood.

The Grand Canal, the former Great Waterway of China between the North and the South for centuries, and now being reconstructed in certain sections, should be wholly reconstructed from end to end, in order to restore the inland waterway traffic from the Yangtze Valley to the North. The reconstruction of this canal will be a great remunerative concern for it runs right along from Tientsin to Hangchow in an extremely rich and populous country.

Another new canal should be constructed from our projected port to Tientsin to link up all the inland waterway systems to the new port. This new canal should be built extra wide and deep, let us say, similar to the present size of the Peiho, for the use of the coasting and shallow-draft vessels which the Peiho now accommodates for other than the winter seasons. The banks of this canal should be prepared for factory sites so as to enable it to pay not only by its traffic but also from the land on both sides of its banks.

As for planning and estimating these river and canal works, the assistance of technical experts must be solicited.