Timber Trade of Chinese Empire. 649 



Korea. Within these boundaries Hes an area of 4,278,352 square 

 miles of the most varied country in the world ; mountain, plateau, 

 valley, and plain giving place to each other in rapid succession, 

 and on this area lives and thrives a population officially estimated 

 at around 430,000,000 souls, namely : 



Area in 

 Population, square miles. 



China proper (the 18 provinces), 400,000,000 1,532,800 



Manchuria, 8,500,000 363,700 



Mongolia, 2,580,000 1,367,953 



Chinese Turkestan, 1,200,000 550,579 



Thibet, 6,430,000 463,320 



There can be little question that this is an overestimate, and in 

 1904, Mr. Rockhill, U. S. Minister to China, came to the con- 

 clusion that the population might be only 270,000,000. 



A very casual glance at these figures will show that the density 

 of population varies greatly. Thus in China proper there are 

 roughly 400 people to the square mile, whilst in Mongolia there 

 are only 2 people to the same area, and in Thibet 14. 



The provinces which will figure most largely in foreign trade 

 will be those commonly known as The Eighteen Provinces, or as 

 the Chinese themselves have it "The Middle Kingdom," as fol- 

 lows : 



Area in Population People per 



square miles square mile 



Anhwei 54,286 23,672,300 432 



Chekiang 36,680 11,580,000 310 



Chihli 115,830 20,930,000 180 



Fokien A^,22i2 22,870,000 492 



Honan 67,954 25,317,820 2,72, 



Hunan 83,398 22,169,000 265 



Hupeh 71,428 35,280,000 495 



Kansu 125,483 10,386,000 82 



Kiangsi 69,498 26,532,000 382 



Kiangsu 38,610 23,980,230 620 



Kwangsi 77,220 5,142,000 66 



Kwangtung 100,000 31,865,200 318 



Kweichow 67,182 7,650,000 114 



Shansi 81,853 12,200,000 149 



Shantung 55,984 38,247,900 683 



Shensi 75,290 8,450,000 112 



Szechw'an 218,533 68,724,800 314 



Yunnan 146,718 12,721,500 86 



