THE  PROVINCES  AND  THE  TREATY  PORTS  221

of  German  administration  are  not  so  much  in  evidence  in
the  “  Kiautschau-gebiet  "  as  in  other  German  colonies.
Though  through  railway  traffic  to  Isinan  was  initiated
only  in  1905,  the  trade  of  the  port  has  already  made  considerable ­
  progress,  as  evidenced  by  the  following  figures,
in  which  the  unimportant  junk  traffic  is  included.

1900
1902
1905

Imports.
Tls.
2,852,576
8,075,250
15,097,422

Exports.
Tls.
1,104,574
2,269,392
7,225,258

Total.
Tls.
3,957,150
10,344,642
22,322,680

The  tendency  of  the  trade  of  western  Shantung  to  gravitate
to  Kiaochow  to  the  detriment  of  Chefoo,  formerly  the  only
treaty  port  outlet  for  the  province,  is  signally  evidenced  by
the  case  of  straw-braid  ;  of  the  total  export  of  this  product
of  home  industry  from  the  two  Shantung  ports  in  1903
Chefoo  contributed  70  per  cent  and  Kiaochow  30  per  cent.,
while  in  1904  the  Chefoo  contribution  fell  to  40  per  cent.,
and  in  1905  fell  further  to  21  per  cent.  Other  important
products  exported  from  Kiaochow  are  yellow  silk,  bean-oil,
and  ground-nut  oil.

Other  Northern  Provinces
On  the  latitude  of  Shantung  is  a  string  of  inland  provinces ­
  with  no  direct  outlet  on  sea  or  river,  the  one  river
common  to  and  running  through  them  all,  the  Yellow
River,  not  being  generally  navigable  in  any  part  of  its  course.
Honan,  “  South  of  the  Ho  "  (Yellow  River),  is  hilly
in  its  western  part,  where  it  borders  on  Shansi,  Shensi,  and
Hupeh,  and  a  plain  to  the  east  where  it  borders  on  Shantung,
Kiangsu,  and  Anhwei.  The  estimated  area  is  68,000  square
miles,  and  population  21,000,000.  A  rich  country  with  no
navigable  rivers,  it  is  destined  to  be  recreated  by  railways  ;
and  its  produce,  which  formerly  found  outlets  at  Tientsin
in  the  north  or  at  Chinkiang  in  the  south,  is  beginning  to
find  its  way  to  Hankow  by  the  Peking-Hankow  line  which
bisects  the  province  from  north  to  south.