lo Through the Yang-tse Gorges 



Import of cotton yarn Import of cotton yarn 10-87 per cent. 



into whole of China into Chung-king 



(chiefly Indian) : (chiefly Indian) : 



523,000 bales = 56,878 bales = 



;f5,23o,ooo. ^£568,780. 



Woollen piece goods Woollen piece goods 6'2 per cent 



imported into all imported into 



China: 443,894 Chung-king: 27,558 



pieces = ;£'665,84i. pieces = ;^i,382. 



In 1886 the import of foreign piece goods which passed 

 the Imperial Maritime Customs at that port for transhipment 

 by junk to Chung-king was — (exchange at that date five 

 shillings per Haikwan tael) : 



Cotton piece goods, value ;^is8,ooo. Woollen piece 

 goods, ;^i 10,000. 



Thus the opening of Chung-king as a treaty port has 

 doubled the quantity of cotton piece goods imported. 

 Woollens have fallen off, the cheaper wadded clothes, of 

 silk with cotton-wool lining, taking their place. Yarn was 

 imported only in small quantities, paying likin, thirteen 

 years ago. 



Of exports from Western China not shown in the above 

 figures, salt from the brine-wells in Szechuan is the principal, 

 to the amount of several thousand tons annually, which 

 further increases the excess in exports. As it is probable 

 that in the long-run the trade balances itself, I presume the 

 balance is effected by the import of yarns and shirtings, 

 produced by the Hankow cotton mills, owned by the 

 Viceroy of Hukwang, which do not pass through the 

 " foreign " Customs, by the import of native hand-woven 

 cotton cloths from Shaze in Hupeh and by the import of 

 raw cotton from the same province. Heavy junk-loads of 

 this staple are despatched day after day from Hankow, after 

 the conclusion of the cotton harvest in November, in junks 



